Grasim Q1 Results: Profit up 51% as cement, Birla Opus power strong growth

Grasim Industries reported a strong start to FY27 on Wednesday, with consolidated net profit rising 51% year-on-year to ₹2,146 crore, compared with ₹1,420.5 crore a year ago.

Revenue grew 21.4% to ₹48,716 crore, while EBITDA rose 27.7% to ₹7,772 crore, helped by stronger operating performance across businesses and cost efficiencies. EBITDA margin improved to 16% from 15% a year ago.

Birla Opus, Pivot keep building materials momentum

The building materials portfolio remained a key contributor to the quarter. Revenue from the segment, which includes cement, paints and B2B e-commerce, rose 21% to ₹28,835 crore, while EBITDA increased 17% to ₹5,002 crore.

Birla Opus continued to gain traction, with revenue rising 64% year-on-year to ₹1,661 crore. Its market share expanded by around 30 basis points sequentially. Birla Pivot also continued to scale, with revenue jumping 75% to ₹2,548 crore on strong customer traction.

Within cement, total grey cement capacity stood at 205.5 MTPA after an 8.7 MTPA expansion, with the company targeting capacity of more than 240 MTPA by March 2028. Total cement sales volumes rose 12.2% year-on-year to 41.3 million tonnes, while ready-mix concrete volumes increased 18% to 4.6 million cubic metres.

Operating EBITDA per tonne stood at ₹1,214, supported by operating leverage and better cost management. The business also continued to increase its green power mix, which stood at 45.6% in Q1 FY27 against a target of 85% by FY30.

Chemicals, fibres benefit from pricing and global markets

Grasim's chemicals business also delivered a better quarter, with revenue rising 10% to ₹2,640 crore and EBITDA increasing 16% to ₹491 crore. The improvement was broad-based across the chemical businesses, with specialty chemicals and chlorine derivatives supporting performance.

Specialty chemicals accounted for 30% of chemicals revenue, up 200 basis points year-on-year, helped by the pass-through of higher key input costs. Caustic sales volumes, however, declined 6% to 284 KT due to lower production during a captive power plant maintenance shutdown.

The cellulosic fibres business saw revenue rise 12% to ₹4,530 crore, helped by higher global prices, rupee depreciation and a favourable product mix. EBITDA nearly doubled to ₹632 crore, albeit against a low base a year earlier.

Global conditions also improved for the segment. China’s CSF operating rates rose to 93% in Q1 FY27 from 82% a year earlier, while inventories fell to seven days. Average CSF prices increased 19% year-on-year to $1.81 per kg, marking the third consecutive quarter of improvement.

Sales volumes were still lower, with CSF volumes down 4% and CFY volumes down 7%, but exports provided some cushion, with export sales volumes more than doubling year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Grasim's financial services business continued to expand, with its total lending portfolio across NBFC and HFC businesses growing 32% year-on-year to ₹2,19,289 crore.