JK Cement Q2: consol PAT +6% YoY, margin slips to 13.6% despite 24% revenue growth

J.K. Cement's consolidated Q2 FY27 (quarter ended September 30, 2026) revenue came in at ₹3,733.42 Cr, up 23.6% YoY but down 7.4% sequentially from Q1's ₹4,031.72 Cr — below the ₹4,100-4,200 Cr band our pre-result preview flagged as the Street's expectation. Consolidated PAT was ₹169.30 Cr (owners' share ₹172.99 Cr after a ₹3.69 Cr non-controlling-interest loss), up a modest 6.3% YoY against 23.6% revenue growth, and down 38.3% from Q1's ₹274.62 Cr. EPS was ₹22.39 versus ₹35.91 in Q1 and ₹20.78 a year ago. No exceptional items featured in either the current or comparative quarters, so these are clean, reported-basis comparisons. The gap between revenue and profit growth sits entirely in margins: operating margin (PBIDT excluding other income, on revenue) fell to roughly 13.6%, down from 16.1% in Q1 FY27 and 14.8% a year ago, while net profit margin slipped to 4.5% from 6.75% (Q1) and 5.19% (Q2 FY26). That lands well below the 17-18% EBITDA margin band the Street was pricing in pre-result — a miss on both revenue and margin. It also runs counter to management's own July guidance, when the company flagged a roughly ₹150/ton fuel-and-diesel cost increase for Q2 but called it a likely "peak" — the margin slippage recorded here, both sequentially and YoY, suggests that peak has not yet translated into relief; whether costs stabilize is now a call for the H2 FY27 numbers. Volume figures were not disclosed in this filing, so progress against management's FY27 target of 22.5-23 million tonnes cannot be directly verified from the results statement alone. On a standalone (India cement) basis, PAT was ₹190 Cr on revenue of ₹3,594.70 Cr with EPS of ₹24.59 — comfortably above the consolidated PAT, underscoring that the overseas operations and newer businesses are a drag relative to the core India franchise this quarter. Alongside the results, the board appointed Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP as statutory auditor for a five-year term from FY28, succeeding S.R. Batliboi & Co., and approved a ₹130 Cr capex for JK Maxx Paints to add a 75,000 KLPA water-based paint plant in Telangana — within the already-sanctioned ₹600 Cr paints investment — as the Bhiwadi facility (currently 60% utilised) approaches full capacity by FY28. No management press release or concall commentary accompanied this filing to corroborate management's own framing of the quarter; the figures above are drawn solely from the regulatory financial-results statement.