ACC Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

ACC Ltd trades at ₹1,357, in a downtrend and 93 weeks into that stage. That is −11.5% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 8% of a 52-week range of ₹1,314 to ₹1,886. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (42 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 93 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹1,357 it trades −11.5% versus its 200-day average and sits at 8% of its 52-week range (₹1,314–₹1,886).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.4 years the stock moved +11% while the NIFTY 500 moved +276% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (42 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2025-10-31) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

ACC Ltd trades at 13.4× P/E, near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 9% of the time. Its long-run median P/E is 23.4×, measured across 10.4 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 13.4× is near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 9% of the time, against a long-run median of 23.4× measured over 10.4 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved −11.0% against a −24.4% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the −10.7%/yr price move, ~−1.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−8.8 pp from the multiple (compressing); over 10y, of the −2.2%/yr price move, ~+10.6%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−12.8 pp from the multiple (compressing). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is low against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

Stage: Deteriorating Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

ACC Ltd reads as deteriorating on its fundamental arc. Deteriorating — profit and EPS growth are shrinking (profit growth −21.1% latest against +377.5% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE slipping at 10.9%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.

🚨 Why it matters: falling curves mean every cheap-looking ratio below needs a discount for direction.

4-Factor Sector Score

42.5/100 — rank 18 of 26 in Cement · 94% evidence confidence

ACC Ltd scores 42.5 out of 100 against the 26 companies it is compared with in Cement, ranking 18. Cheap but unconfirmed: require improving earnings before treating the valuation as an opportunity.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 9.1 + 9.9 + 16.7 + 6.8 = 42.5. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

ACC Ltd reported ₹5,808 Cr of revenue in the Jun 26 quarter, −4.6% year on year. Over 11 years it has compounded at 7.5% a year. The last full year, Mar 26, came in at ₹25,962 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹25,442 Cr.

Mar 26 revenue came in at ₹25,962 Cr (+19.3% on the year), capping 11 years at 7.5% compound. The latest quarter (Jun 26) printed ₹5,808 Cr, −4.6% year on year.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +12.6% growth against the decade's 7.5% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +11.5% over the last 4 quarters against +12.9%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit −21.1% vs −7.5%/yr — rolling over.

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

ACC Ltd's operating margin is 8.0% in the Jun 26 quarter, −5.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 9.0% to 19.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 8.0%, −5.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 9.0%–19.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −4.9 pp year on year while gross margin went −5.7 pp — the loss came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

ACC Ltd earned ₹147 Cr of net profit in the Jun 26 quarter, −60.8% year on year. Full-year Mar 26 profit was ₹2,137 Cr. The 11-year compound rate is 12.5%. That is 2.5% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹375 Cr.

Jun 26 profit was ₹147 Cr, −60.8% year on year. On the full year, Mar 26 printed ₹2,137 Cr (−11.0%), and the 11-year compound rate is 12.5%.

🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed −4.6% and the margin −5.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led despite a thinner margin.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +66.8% vs revenue +12.6%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra rupee of revenue drops more to the bottom line.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 49% of ACC Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — a gap worth watching. In Mar 26 that was ₹−1,364 Cr of operating cash against ₹2,137 Cr of profit. After ₹1,711 Cr of capital spending, ₹−3,075 Cr was left as free cash.

Mar 26: operating cash of ₹−1,364 Cr against reported profit of ₹2,137 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−3,075 Cr after ₹1,711 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 49% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

🚨 Why conversion sits at 49%: the cash cycle stretched 96 days between FY20 and Mar 26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving. Less than 70% of profit arriving as cash is the thing to watch on this page.

Router verdict: conversion is below par and the cash cycle has stretched 96 days — the next section's job is to find where the cash is stuck.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

ACC Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 32 days in Mar 26, up from −64 days in FY20. Capital spending ran ₹7,291 Cr over the last 3 years. At Mar 26 sales of ₹25,962 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹71.1 Cr, so roughly ₹2,276 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

Mar 26: debtors at 54 days, inventory at 58 days — roughly 1.9 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of 32 days, looser than FY20's −64.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 58 days to sell; customers pay about 54 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 80 days — netting out to the 32-day cycle.

In money terms: at Mar 26 sales of ₹25,962 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹71.1 Cr — so the 32-day loop keeps roughly ₹2,276 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹7,291 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹3,004 Cr of depreciation — the company is building well ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹2,227 Cr (Mar 26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the working-capital loop is the cash sink the router flagged — watch the cycle, not the P&L.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

ACC Ltd earns a ROCE of 11% in Mar 26. That is up from a trough of 9% in Mar 23. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −4.7 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is 8.2% net margin on 0.94× asset turns.

Mar 26 ROCE is 11%, recovered from a Mar 23 trough of 9% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (Mar 26): 8.2% net margin × 0.94× asset turns × 1.34× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 10.3% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is modest — this is an earned return, not a borrowed one.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 7.3% − 12.0% = a −4.7 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Negative — growth at these returns destroys value until the returns recover.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

ACC Ltd carries total debt of ₹429 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹20,554 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.02 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.01 in FY23 to 0.02 in FY26. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹429 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹20,554 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.02. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.01 (FY23) to 0.02 (FY26). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

Domestic institutions cut 3.7 points of ACC Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 21.1% of the company. Foreign institutions moved +0.2 points over the same window, to 5.8%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Domestic institutions: −3.7 points over 8 quarters to 21.1%; Foreign institutions: +0.2 points over 8 quarters to 5.8%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 56.7%.

🚨 Why the register moved: domestic institutions drove it (−3.7 points) — distribution into the market’s bid.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

ACC Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

Frequently asked questions