UltraTech Cement vs Shree Cement (2026): Scale, Valuation, ROCE & Which Is Better?
UltraTech Cement and Shree Cement are both high-quality names in Indian cement, but they are no longer close peers in scale. UltraTech has crossed 205 MTPA of global capacity, while Shree Cement's India capacity reached 69.3 MTPA after its latest commissioning. The more interesting comparison today is not simply "which company is bigger?" It is whether Shree's traditionally efficient, conservative operating model can justify a higher earnings multiple than a much larger UltraTech that is currently growing faster.
That question produces an unusual result. UltraTech is larger, has higher current ROE and ROCE, stronger five-year sales and profit growth, much higher cumulative free cash flow and better recent market performance. Yet Shree Cement currently trades at the higher P/E.
The real UltraTech vs Shree Cement question
UltraTech currently looks stronger on the numbers that normally justify a premium cement valuation, but Shree Cement still carries a richer earnings multiple.
That makes this comparison more interesting than a generic "large cement company versus another cement company" article.
UltraTech's latest Bull Run snapshot shows a 12.27% ROCE, 11.08% ROE, 14.63% five-year sales growth and 8.37% five-year profit growth. Shree Cement shows a 10.61% ROCE, 7.78% ROE, 9.22% five-year sales growth and negative 5.27% five-year profit growth.
UltraTech's trailing P/E, however, is around 40.78x. Shree's is approximately 59.55x.
The burden of proof therefore sits differently for the two stocks. UltraTech needs to show that its enormous expansion programme continues to earn acceptable returns. Shree needs to show that earnings growth can catch up with the valuation investors are currently paying.
UltraTech Cement vs Shree Cement at a glance
| Metric | UltraTech Cement | Shree Cement | What It Says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share price | ₹11,540 | ₹24,440 | Nominal share price is not a valuation measure |
| Market capitalisation | ₹348,211 Cr | ₹97,066 Cr | UltraTech is about 3.6x larger |
| P/E | 40.78x | 59.55x | UltraTech cheaper on earnings |
| P/B | 4.54x | 4.17x | Shree slightly cheaper on book |
| ROE | 11.08% | 7.78% | UltraTech |
| ROCE | 12.27% | 10.61% | UltraTech |
| Net profit margin | 9.29% | 7.44% | UltraTech |
| 5-year sales growth | 14.63% | 9.22% | UltraTech |
| 5-year profit growth | 8.37% | -5.27% | UltraTech |
| 5-year EPS growth | 7.95% | -5.27% | UltraTech |
| 5-year free cash flow | ₹15,612 Cr | ₹2,595 Cr | UltraTech on absolute generation |
| Debt-to-equity | 0.30 | 0.07 | Shree Cement |
| Interest coverage | 6.85x | 11.83x | Shree Cement |
| Operating cash flow / net profit | 1.88x | 2.18x | Shree Cement |
| Promoter holding | 59.23% | 62.55% | Both high |
| Promoter pledge | 0% | 0% | Both clean on this measure |
| FII holding | 13.61% | 8.22% | UltraTech higher foreign institutional ownership |
| Bull Run Score | 54.3/100 | 36.0/100 | UltraTech |
First, the scale gap has become enormous
UltraTech is no longer just India's largest cement company. Its April 2026 commissioning pushed global capacity to 205.5 MTPA.
UltraTech announced on 17 April 2026 that domestic capacity had reached 200.1 MTPA after commissioning 8.7 MTPA across Shahjahanpur, Patratu and Visakhapatnam. Including operations in the UAE, Bahrain and Sri Lanka, global capacity reached 205.5 MTPA.
Shree Cement is also expanding aggressively, but from a much smaller base. In March 2026, the company commissioned the 3.5 MTPA cement mill at Kodla, Karnataka. Its official disclosure said India cement capacity had increased to about 69.3 MTPA.
Shree's FY2026 results described it as India's third-largest cement group by capacity and reiterated its longer-term ambition to move beyond 80 MTPA.
UltraTech therefore has nearly three times Shree's current cement capacity.
That scale difference affects almost every other part of the comparison: procurement, logistics, distribution, brand reach, regional diversification and the amount of capital required to keep growing.
Does larger automatically mean better in cement?
No. Cement is a capital-intensive commodity business, so capacity only creates value when plants run at healthy utilisation and produce acceptable returns on capital.
A company can commission millions of tonnes of capacity and still destroy shareholder value if pricing weakens, freight costs rise or the new plants remain underutilised.
This is why ROCE matters so much in the UltraTech versus Shree debate.
UltraTech's current ROCE is 12.27%. Shree Cement's is 10.61%. Neither is an extraordinary software-like return, but UltraTech currently has the advantage despite operating a far larger asset base.
That matters because scale becomes more impressive when the larger company also produces the higher return on capital.
Shree Cement's traditional strength is still visible in the balance sheet
Shree Cement remains the more conservatively leveraged company in the current snapshot.
Its debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.07, compared with 0.30 for UltraTech.
Interest coverage tells the same story. Shree's current interest coverage is about 11.83x, versus 6.85x for UltraTech.
Shree also has a current ratio of approximately 2.16x, while UltraTech's is around 0.74x.
For a cement investor, these numbers do not mean UltraTech is dangerously leveraged. They simply show that Shree currently carries greater balance-sheet headroom relative to its operating size.
That conservative financial structure has historically been part of the attraction of the Shree Cement story.
But cash generation does not belong only to Shree
Both companies convert accounting earnings into operating cash well, which is important in a sector where expansion can consume enormous capital.
Shree Cement's operating cash flow to net profit ratio is approximately 2.18x. UltraTech's is around 1.88x.
So Shree has the edge on current conversion.
On the other hand, Bull Run records about ₹15,612 crore of five-year free cash flow for UltraTech compared with approximately ₹2,595 crore for Shree Cement.
Absolute figures naturally reflect the difference in company scale, but UltraTech's cash-generation record matters because the business has continued funding a huge capacity expansion programme without allowing leverage to become extreme.
The five-year growth record strongly favours UltraTech
UltraTech's recent valuation premium is supported by a considerably better five-year growth record than Shree Cement's.
UltraTech's five-year sales growth is approximately 14.63%, compared with 9.22% for Shree.
The bigger difference appears below the revenue line. UltraTech has delivered roughly 8.37% five-year profit growth and 7.95% five-year EPS growth.
Shree Cement's equivalent profit and EPS growth fields are both negative at roughly 5.27%.
This does not mean Shree has become a structurally weak company. It means the earnings base has not compounded at the rate suggested by its current 59.5x P/E.
That valuation-growth mismatch is the key issue investors should investigate before assuming Shree is automatically the "quality" choice.
What do the latest quarterly numbers say?
Both companies are growing revenue in the latest comparison period, but UltraTech currently has much stronger profit momentum.
UltraTech's year-on-year quarterly sales growth is approximately 15.85%, with quarterly profit growth around 16.77%.
Shree Cement's quarterly sales growth is slightly higher at roughly 18.03%, but profit is down about 17.66% year on year.
That divergence deserves attention.
When revenue grows but profit falls, investors should investigate realisations per tonne, fuel costs, freight, depreciation from newly commissioned capacity, operating leverage and other expenses.
A fast-growing top line only creates shareholder value if incremental volume eventually improves earnings and return on capital.
Why Shree Cement's 59.5x P/E deserves scrutiny
Shree currently trades at a higher earnings multiple than UltraTech despite lower ROE, lower ROCE, lower five-year sales growth and negative five-year profit growth.
That does not automatically make Shree overvalued. Markets discount the future, not the past.
Shree is expanding capacity, recently commissioned Kodla, is pursuing additional projects and still maintains a conservative balance sheet. A future improvement in utilisation and earnings could make current trailing multiples look less demanding.
But the present valuation leaves less room for operational disappointment.
At around 59.55x earnings, the market is not valuing Shree like a deeply cyclical commodity producer. It is valuing the business as if better earnings growth and operating efficiency will emerge.
UltraTech is expensive too, but the premium has a clearer numerical foundation
UltraTech's 40.78x P/E is also above Bull Run's current cement-industry P/E of 32.46x.
Investors are paying above the sector multiple for the country's largest cement platform.
The difference is that UltraTech currently supports that premium with a stronger five-year growth record, higher ROE, higher ROCE, positive current profit growth and a massive operating footprint.
The stock is not statistically cheap. The argument is that its premium is easier to connect to observable operating performance.
Which company is more profitable?
UltraTech currently leads on ROE, ROCE and net profit margin.
UltraTech's ROE is approximately 11.08%, against Shree's 7.78%.
UltraTech's ROCE is about 12.27%, against Shree's 10.61%.
Net profit margin is approximately 9.29% for UltraTech and 7.44% for Shree.
These are not enormous differences in isolation. Taken together with UltraTech's stronger growth and scale, however, they become meaningful.
Which company is expanding more intelligently?
Both are expanding, but their challenge is different.
UltraTech already operates at enormous scale. Its task is to add capacity without diluting returns on capital.
Shree is trying to close part of the scale gap while preserving the balance-sheet conservatism and cost discipline for which it is known.
Shree's March 2026 Kodla commissioning increased India capacity to 69.3 MTPA. Its FY2026 result release also referenced a Meghalaya integrated project and continued pursuit of expansion opportunities.
UltraTech, meanwhile, commissioned another 8.7 MTPA in April 2026 alone.
For shareholders, the winning expansion strategy is not the one that announces the most capacity. It is the one that converts incremental capacity into sustainable EBITDA, cash flow and ROCE.
What does the market think right now?
UltraTech has held up considerably better than Shree Cement over the latest year.
| Period | UltraTech | Shree Cement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week | -2.04% | -4.19% |
| 1 month | -4.58% | -10.30% |
| 3 months | -1.27% | -3.78% |
| 6 months | -10.80% | -8.62% |
| 1 year | -8.46% | -18.57% |
Neither stock has delivered positive one-year performance in Bull Run's current dataset.
UltraTech, however, is down roughly 12% from its 52-week high, while Shree Cement is about 20.5% below its high.
Recent price performance should not decide a long-term investment. It does tell us that the market has been more willing to preserve UltraTech's premium.
Shree Cement's RSI is low. Does that make it attractive?
No. A low RSI describes recent price momentum; it does not establish fundamental value.
Shree's 14-day RSI is approximately 23.7, compared with UltraTech at around 35.6.
Shree also trades below its 20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages.
That makes the stock technically weak in the current snapshot. It does not automatically make it fundamentally cheap, especially when the P/E remains around 59.5x.
This is a useful example of why "oversold" and "undervalued" are different concepts.
Where UltraTech clearly wins
Operating case
- 205.5 MTPA global capacity.
- Higher current ROE.
- Higher current ROCE.
- Higher net profit margin.
- Stronger five-year sales growth.
- Positive five-year profit and EPS growth.
- Large five-year free-cash-flow base.
- Better latest quarterly profit momentum.
- Lower current P/E than Shree Cement.
What UltraTech still has to prove
- Large capacity additions must sustain utilisation.
- ROCE must not deteriorate as capital employed rises.
- Its P/E remains above the cement-sector benchmark.
- Debt is higher than Shree's, although not extreme.
- Cement pricing and energy costs remain cyclical risks.
Where Shree Cement still has an edge
Financial discipline
- Debt-to-equity of only about 0.07.
- Interest coverage near 11.8x.
- Current ratio above 2x.
- Operating cash flow exceeds net profit by more than 2x.
- Zero promoter pledge.
- Meaningful ongoing capacity expansion.
What Shree has to prove
- Why a 59.5x P/E is justified by future earnings.
- Whether new capacity can lift profit growth.
- Whether ROE can improve from below 8%.
- Whether ROCE can rise as capacity expands.
- Whether sales growth can translate into stronger bottom-line growth.
UltraTech Cement vs Shree Cement: category-by-category conclusion
Scale: UltraTech, by a very large margin.
Five-year growth: UltraTech.
Current ROE: UltraTech.
Current ROCE: UltraTech.
Net profit margin: UltraTech.
Balance-sheet conservatism: Shree Cement.
Interest coverage: Shree Cement.
Operating cash conversion: Shree Cement.
Trailing P/E valuation: UltraTech is cheaper.
Price-to-book valuation: Shree is slightly cheaper.
Recent share-price resilience: UltraTech.
UltraTech vs Shree Cement FAQs
Which is larger?
UltraTech. Its global capacity reached 205.5 MTPA in April 2026, while Shree Cement reported 69.3 MTPA of installed India cement capacity after the Kodla commissioning.
Which stock has the lower P/E?
UltraTech, at roughly 40.8x versus Shree Cement at approximately 59.5x in Bull Run's 25 August 2026 snapshot.
Which has better ROCE?
UltraTech, at approximately 12.27% compared with Shree Cement at 10.61%.
Which has lower debt?
Shree Cement. Its debt-to-equity ratio is roughly 0.07 compared with UltraTech at around 0.30.
Which has grown sales faster over five years?
UltraTech. Its five-year sales growth is approximately 14.63%, versus Shree Cement at around 9.22%.
Which has stronger five-year EPS growth?
UltraTech has positive five-year EPS growth of approximately 7.95%, while Shree Cement's current five-year EPS growth field is negative at roughly 5.27%.
Is Shree Cement cheap because its share price has fallen?
No. A falling share price does not automatically create a cheap valuation. Shree currently remains expensive on trailing P/E despite being well below its 52-week high.
Primary research sources
Disclaimer
This article is for educational and informational purposes only. Market prices and technical data are from Bull Run's available 25 August 2026 snapshot, while capacity and strategic information is based on company disclosures. Financial metrics change over time and may use different reporting periods. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold UltraTech Cement, Shree Cement or any other security. Bull Run is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or Investment Adviser.