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1. Fix the comparison before collecting numbers
Two cement producers can report apparently comparable percentages while describing different businesses. Write down the comparison frame before entering any figures.
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Align the reporting period
Use the same fiscal year or clearly label differences. A calendar year ending December 2025 is not directly comparable with a fiscal year ending March 2025 because fuel prices, demand and currency conditions may fall in different parts of the cycle. If periods cannot be aligned, present the mismatch beside every figure rather than implying a simultaneous result.
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Record the reporting currency and decide whether the analysis is nominal or converted. A currency conversion can make a figure easier to display but does not remove local fuel prices, inflation, freight distances or regulation. Keep the company’s original unit in a separate column.
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Align business scope
Check whether revenue and costs cover cement only or include ready-mix concrete, aggregates, trading, logistics or other operations. Also check consolidated versus parent-company accounts and whether a newly acquired plant is included for the full period.
Use a scope checklist
- Fiscal period and year-end date
- Reporting currency and any conversion date
- Countries, plants and subsidiaries included
- Cement-only or a broader building-materials segment
- Clinker, cement and concrete volumes reported separately or together
- Whether figures are audited, preliminary or management-reported
2. Choose one margin definition
Operating margin and EBITDA margin answer different questions. Operating margin is operating income divided by revenue and includes depreciation and amortization. EBITDA margin removes those charges and may be adjusted for items that management considers exceptional. For a cross-company comparison, use the same measure everywhere or show the measures in separate columns.
Operating margin
Operating margin is the clearest measure of profit generated by the reported operations after ordinary operating costs and depreciation. It is useful when plants have different ages, because depreciation is part of the cost of using production assets, although accounting lives and impairment policies still differ.
EBITDA margin
EBITDA can help compare operating cash-generation potential before depreciation, but only after checking the definition. Cementos Pacasmayo defines EBITDA margin as EBITDA divided by sales of goods and cautions that its EBITDA measures may not be comparable with similarly titled measures from other cement companies. Treat company-defined EBITDA as a supplemental measure, not a replacement for operating profit or cash flow.
Record every adjustment
For each issuer, capture the exact numerator, denominator and adjustments. Note whether EBITDA includes restructuring, gains on asset sales, stock compensation, foreign-exchange effects or other items. If one company reports adjusted EBITDA and another reports statutory operating income, do not rank them as if they were one metric.
| Measure | Formula | Best use | Main caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | Operating income ÷ revenue | Like-for-like operating profitability | Depreciation, impairment and accounting policies differ |
| EBITDA margin | EBITDA ÷ revenue | Supplemental view before depreciation | Definitions and adjustments may be company-specific |
| Net margin | Net income ÷ revenue | Profit after financing and tax | Interest, tax, currency and non-operating items can dominate |
3. Measure fuel exposure, not just fuel expense
Cement production uses large amounts of thermal energy in the kiln and electrical power for crushing, grinding and material handling. A useful comparison separates price, quantity and mix.
Fuel cost per unit of heat
Some producers report a fuel cost per thousand kilocalories or another heat unit. ACC reported a FY 2025 kiln fuel cost of ₹1.61 per thousand kilocalories. This is a heat-price measure, not a percentage of revenue and not a direct measure of total fuel spending per tonne.
Fuel cost per tonne
Cost per tonne of clinker or cement combines fuel price, heat consumption and production efficiency. Check whether the denominator is clinker, cement, dispatched cement or total production. A producer with more purchased clinker may show a different fuel profile from an integrated producer even when both sell a tonne of cement.
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Energy share of cost of sales
This shows how important energy is within the reported cost base. Loma Negra reported thermal energy at 11% of cost of sales in 2025, compared with 13% in 2024 and 16% in 2023. It reported electrical power at 8% in each of 2025, 2024 and 2023. The percentages describe cost structure, not physical efficiency.
Fuel consumption and substitution
Look for fuel consumption per tonne, heat consumption, thermal substitution rate and the fuels used. JSW Cement reported a 16.5% thermal substitution rate for FY 2024–25. Do not assume that percentage is comparable with another company’s alternative-fuel rate unless both use the same denominator, fuel categories and plant scope.
Fuel mix
Loma Negra describes natural gas, mineral coal, petcoke, fuel oil and co-processing in its energy disclosures. The mix affects price exposure, emissions costs, supply security and kiln performance. Record the mix before concluding that one company has superior procurement or efficiency.
4. Build a repeatable comparison workbook
A spreadsheet or database makes the analysis auditable. Keep reported values and your normalized calculations in separate columns.
- Create an issuer sheet. Enter company, reporting date, currency, geography, consolidation scope, segment scope and source document.
- Enter the reported income statement. Capture revenue, operating income, EBITDA, adjustments and the company’s stated margin for the same period.
- Enter physical activity. Add clinker production, cement production, sales volume, capacity utilization and, where available, average selling price.
- Enter energy data with units. Record thermal fuel cost, electricity cost, fuel consumption, heat consumption, fuel mix and thermal substitution rate. Do not convert a heat-unit measure into a tonne measure without the required physical data.
- Map cost of sales. Separate fuel or thermal energy, electricity, freight, labor, maintenance and raw materials. Mark categories that are not disclosed.
- Normalize formulas. Calculate operating margin as operating income divided by revenue. Calculate EBITDA margin only from a definition you have documented. Calculate cost per tonne only when the numerator and denominator cover the same plants and period.
- Add a comparability flag. Mark each row as comparable, partially comparable or not comparable. Explain the reason in a note rather than silently forcing a conversion.
- Review outliers. Investigate abrupt changes in margin, fuel share or volume against acquisitions, shutdowns, price changes, fuel contracts and currency movements.
5. Read margin beside volume, price and product mix
Margin is an outcome, not a diagnosis. A change can result from selling prices, sales volume, product mix, utilization, fuel prices, freight, labor, maintenance, raw materials or foreign exchange.
Volume and utilization
Fixed plant costs are spread over more tonnes when utilization rises. A weak-demand period can therefore reduce margin even if fuel cost per unit improves. Compare dispatches and production with capacity, and distinguish a temporary outage from a structural loss of market share.
Price and pass-through
Higher selling prices can offset more expensive coal, petcoke, gas or electricity. Conversely, a producer may report lower fuel expense while margins fall because competitive pressure prevents price increases. Check price or revenue per tonne where disclosed.
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Premium blended cement, bulk cement and bagged cement can have different prices and material requirements. A shift toward a higher-value product may lift margin without any fuel improvement. Regional mix matters because freight distances, taxes and local prices differ.
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Use management explanations carefully
Loma Negra states in its 2025 SEC filing, “Our operating income has been affected by energy price changes.” That establishes energy as a disclosed influence, not proof that a particular project caused a specific year-over-year margin movement. Treat management commentary as context and test it against volume, price and cost data.
6. What published company figures show—and what they do not
The following figures illustrate the method. They are not a normalized industry ranking because the periods, scopes and definitions differ.
| Company and period | Reported figure | What it measures | Comparability note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loma Negra, 2025 | Thermal energy 11% of cost of sales | Thermal energy’s share of reported cost of sales | Company-specific cost classification |
| Loma Negra, 2025 | Electrical power 8% of cost of sales | Electricity’s share of reported cost of sales | Same percentage as reported for 2024 and 2023 |
| JSW Cement, FY 2024–25 | Operating EBITDA margin 14.9%; revenue ₹5,813 crore; operating EBITDA ₹876 crore | Company-reported operating EBITDA performance | Fiscal year ending in 2025 and company definition |
| ACC, FY 2024–25 | Operating EBITDA margin 14.1% | Operating EBITDA profitability | Different issuer definition and period convention |
| ACC, FY 2024–25 | Kiln fuel cost ₹1.61 per thousand kilocalories | Thermal fuel cost per heat unit | Not a per-tonne cost or energy share |
| Cementos Pacasmayo, calendar 2025 | Company-defined EBITDA margin 23.9% | EBITDA divided by sales of goods under its definition | Issuer warns that similarly titled measures may not be comparable |
| JSW Cement, FY 2024–25 | Thermal substitution rate 16.5% | Alternative-fuel substitution under its calculation | Scope and denominator must match another issuer before comparison |
For example, placing Pacasmayo’s 23.9% beside ACC’s 14.1% and calling Pacasmayo the more efficient producer would mix a calendar year with fiscal years and potentially different EBITDA definitions. The correct use is to ask what must be aligned before a ranking is defensible.
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7. Examine the rest of cost of sales
Fuel can be material without being the largest cost. Loma Negra’s 2025 filing reports freight at 10% of cost of sales, maintenance at 10%, labor at 17% and raw materials at 12%, alongside thermal energy at 11% and electricity at 8%. Those categories illustrate why a fuel-only explanation can miss the main margin driver.
Freight
Freight depends on quarry locations, plant-to-market distance, fuel surcharges and the balance between rail, road and sea transport. A producer with a higher kiln fuel cost can still earn a better margin if its distribution network is more favorable.
Labor and maintenance
Planned shutdowns, wage changes and major repairs can depress one period’s margin while protecting future reliability. Separate recurring maintenance from an unusual outage when the filing provides that detail.
Raw materials and additives
Clinker factor, limestone quality, gypsum and supplementary cementitious materials affect both thermal demand and material cost. A lower clinker ratio may reduce kiln fuel use while increasing grinding, transport or additive costs.
Electricity
Electricity is distinct from kiln fuel. Grid tariffs, captive generation, renewable contracts and grinding intensity can change electrical cost even when thermal fuel prices are stable. Keep thermal and electrical measures separate throughout the workbook.
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8. Explain differences without overclaiming
When one company reports a lower fuel figure or higher margin, test several explanations:
- Fuel prices: Spot prices, contracts, hedges and local taxes may differ.
- Procurement and sourcing: Domestic supply, imports and transport costs can change the delivered price.
- Fuel mix: Gas, coal, petcoke, fuel oil and processed waste have different prices and heat values.
- Plant efficiency: Kiln age, heat recovery, maintenance and operating conditions affect consumption.
- Alternative fuels: Substitution can reduce fossil-fuel use but may require preprocessing, handling and permitting.
- Pass-through: Selling-price changes can preserve margin despite higher energy costs.
- Mix and utilization: Product type, geography and volume change the cost per tonne.
These are plausible mechanisms, not automatic proof. A company disclosure can identify a factor that management considers important, but it does not independently establish how much of the margin change that factor caused.
9. Common comparison errors and fixes
Comparing unlike EBITDA measures
Error: Ranking adjusted EBITDA from one company against statutory operating profit from another.
Fix: Use operating margin for the primary ranking, or document every EBITDA adjustment and label the result supplemental.
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Equating lower fuel cost with better efficiency
Error: Treating a lower rupee-per-heat-unit figure as lower energy consumption.
Fix: Pair price-per-heat data with consumption per tonne, fuel mix and production scope.
Ignoring the denominator
Error: Comparing fuel as a percentage of cost of sales with fuel cost per tonne as though they were the same metric.
Fix: Preserve units and describe the question each measure answers.
Mixing periods and currencies
Error: Combining calendar 2025, FY 2024–25 and a converted currency without clear labels.
Fix: Put period and currency in every table heading and use aligned periods for conclusions.
Blaming energy for every margin move
Error: Ignoring freight, labor, maintenance, raw materials, prices and volume.
Fix: Reconcile the full cost-of-sales bridge before assigning causality.
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After normalization, classify each conclusion rather than forcing a single winner.
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- Comparable advantage: The companies use aligned periods, scopes and definitions, and one has lower energy consumption or a stronger operating margin after accounting for mix.
- Cost exposure advantage: One has a smaller energy share of cost of sales or a more diversified fuel basket, even if current margin is similar.
- Temporary margin advantage: A favorable price, outage pattern, fuel contract or utilization level lifts one period but may not persist.
- Insufficient evidence: Definitions, units or scopes do not align. Report the difference and avoid a ranking.
A strong conclusion states the metric, period, scope and limitation in the same sentence. For example: “On the company-reported FY 2024–25 figures, the two operating EBITDA margins are close, but their fuel measures use different units, so the data do not establish a plant-efficiency winner.”
11. Minimum data set for an investor’s model
For each company and year, collect:
- Revenue, operating income and reported EBITDA
- Exact margin definitions and adjustments
- Cement, clinker and dispatch volumes
- Capacity and utilization, if disclosed
- Average selling price or revenue per tonne, if disclosed
- Thermal fuel cost and electrical power cost
- Fuel consumption or heat consumption per tonne
- Fuel mix and thermal substitution rate
- Freight, labor, maintenance and raw-material shares
- Currency, period, geography and consolidation scope
- Management commentary on energy prices, procurement and pass-through
Missing data should be marked “not stated” with the source and period. Do not fill an unavailable cell with an estimate and then present the estimate as reported performance.
12. The conclusion your comparison can support
A defensible cement-company comparison does not begin with the highest published margin. It begins with aligned accounting and operating definitions, then separates fuel price from fuel consumption and fuel mix. It reads margin alongside volume, selling prices, product mix and every major cost category. Company examples such as Loma Negra’s energy shares, ACC’s kiln-fuel measure, JSW Cement’s substitution rate and Pacasmayo’s defined EBITDA margin are useful building blocks, but they are not an industry ranking until periods, scope, units and definitions are normalized.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use operating margin or EBITDA margin to rank cement companies?
Use operating margin as the primary like-for-like measure when it is available. Show EBITDA margin separately only after recording each company’s definition and adjustments, because similarly titled EBITDA measures may not be comparable.
Is fuel cost per thousand kilocalories the same as fuel cost per tonne of cement?
No. Cost per thousand kilocalories measures the price of delivered heat. Cost per tonne also reflects heat consumption, clinker factor, production scope and the denominator used.
Why can a company with lower fuel costs still have a lower operating margin?
Margin also reflects selling prices, volume, utilization, product mix, freight, labor, maintenance, raw materials, electricity and other items. Lower fuel expense alone does not determine total profitability.
Can thermal substitution rates be compared directly between companies?
Only when the companies use the same scope, denominator, fuel categories and calculation method. Otherwise, report each rate with its definition rather than ranking them.
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