India's JK Lakshmi Cement profit plunges on one‑time labour law charge

JK Lakshmi Cement

03/02/2026 12:24

Feb 3(Reuters) - India's JK Lakshmi Cement JKLC.NS reported a 26% drop in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, as it took a one time charge from the newly implemented labour laws.

Standalone net profit-after-tax fell to 581.2 million rupees ($6.44 million) during the quarter ended December 31 from 783.3 million rupees a year ago. The company also took a one-time hit of 190.9 million rupees from the labour codes in the reported quarter.

Revenue from operations rose 6.1% to 15.88 billion rupees, while costs climbed 7.5%.

For further earnings highlights, click here.

KEY CONTEXT

     Analysts had expected a weak December quarter for Indian cement makers as prices fell 1%–3% sequentially, but they see the trend reversing in the coming months after a disappointing second half of 2025.

They also see the Indian government's move to cut taxes on cement bags to 18% from 28% as a demand driver.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Revenue growth(%)
Profit growth(%)
Mean rating*
# of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd
JKLC.NS
17.54
8.55
12.17
26.38
Buy
15
0.82
0.83
Shree Cement Ltd
SHCM.NS
42.94
16.69
10.01
26.83
Hold
23
0.90
0.58
Dalmia Bharat Ltd
DALB.NS
29.07
11.47
9.93
20.00
Buy
35
0.87
0.44
Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd
NUVO.NS
26.69
8.62
9.35
33.97
Buy
20
0.81
NULL

* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

OCTOBER TO DECEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE

 -- All data from LSEG

-- $1 = XX Indian rupees

($1 = 90.2660 Indian rupees)

JKLC v Peers https://tmsnrt.rs/4a5ZoC0

 (Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

 ((UrviManoj.Dugar@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9558725583;))