More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025

 

By Rajesh Gajra

 

NEW DELHI – The June quarter earnings of basic industries companies that are a part of the Nifty 200 surpassed analyst estimates on both revenue and net profit on an aggregate basis. The sector companies also surpassed the Street view on both revenue and net profit for the broader index Nifty 200 companies.

 

An uptick in demand and higher metal and cement prices were the primary drivers for the better-than-expected revenue performance in the June quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago. A better-than-expected revenue growth on the back of higher metal prices, a fall in power and fuel costs, benign raw material costs, freight costs, and other expenses, and a decline in finance costs were the reasons why the on-year net profit performance was above the Street view for the June quarter.

 

Earnings estimates for the June quarter were available for all 40 basic industries companies from the Nifty 200, except for Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. The basic industries sector comprises companies from capital goods, cement, metals and mining, and real estate sub-sectors.

 

The aggregate net profit, adjusted for exceptional items, of the 39 companies rose 19% on year, higher than analysts' estimate of 16.7%. This outperformance was on the back of aggregate net sales rising 8.1% on year against analysts' expectation of 6.4%.

 

Including Rail Vikas Nigam, the aggregate adjusted net profit of the basic industries sector companies rose 18.6% on year on an 8% increase in net sales in the June quarter. The sector's adjusted net profit growth was substantially above the estimate of 10.3% for overall Nifty 200 companies. But the adjusted net profit growth of these companies for the June quarter was the lowest in five quarters, indicating a slowing down of the growth momentum. In the trailing quarter, the adjusted net profit of these companies had risen 21.2% on year.

 

The 8% on-year net sales growth of the 40 basic industries sector companies was higher than the 7.3% net sales growth in the trailing quarter but lower than the 9.7% growth in the December quarter. But it was the second highest on-year sales growth in 11 quarters indicating the companies' revenue resilience. It also surpassed the Nifty 200 companies' net sales growth estimate of 2.1%.

 

Individually, 21 companies surpassed the Street view on their adjusted net profit by a margin of 10% or more, 16 companies missed it by a margin of 10% or more, and one was in line or within a margin of 10%. On an individual basis, 13 companies surpassed the analyst estimates on net sales while 14 companies missed it and 12 were in line.

 

With respect to the aggregate adjusted net profit growth estimate of 16.7% for the sector, 19 companies surpassed it, 17 companies missed it, and two companies' net profit was in line with the estimates. A total of 23 companies surpassed the aggregate net sales growth estimate of 6.4% for the sector while 17 missed it.

 

APR-JUN PROFIT DRIVERS

The on-year 8.1% increase in revenue was a crucial factor behind the 19% on-year rise in the aggregate adjusted net profit of the 40 companies from the basic industries. Apart from net sales, a 13% on-year jump in other income was also an important contributor since it made up for 2.2% of total revenue for these companies.

 

The cost of raw materials consumed, which made up 42% of the total expenses in the June quarter, increased 7.4% on year and lagged the revenue increase of 8.1%. This had a beneficial effect on the bottom line, as did a 5.9% increase in freight and handling expenses, which made up 3% of total expenses.

 

The power and fuel expenses, which had a 6% share in total expenses, moved up by just 0.7% on year. The biggest help to the net profit came from other expenses which moved up only 3.9% and made for 18% of the total expenses.

 

On other hand, the adjusted net profit was dragged down by a few operating and non-operating expenses. The purchases of stock-in-trade, with a 3.4% total expense share, jumped 36% on year, while construction material expenses, with a 4.7% share in total expenses, rose 25%. Depreciation and amortisation costs, with a 5% total expenses share, rose 11.1% on year and tax expenses, which made up 3.2% of revenue, jumped 26%.

 

FIRED UP METALS

The basic industries sector companies, at the aggregate level, were able to surpass analysts' estimates for both revenue and adjusted net profit, primarily due to the superlative performance of nine companies from the metals and mining sub-sector. These metal and mining companies made up 58% of the aggregate revenue of the Nifty 200 basic industries companies in the June quarter. They reported a 3.5% on-year increase in net sales for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimate of an increase of just 1.2%. But these companies missed the 6.4% growth expected in the aggregate net sales of the basic industries sector companies.

 

The metal and mining companies' bottom line growth of 20% on year in the June quarter also surpassed the Street view of an 11% growth. This was also above the 16.7% net profit growth estimate for the basic industries sector companies.

 

JSW Steel's consolidated adjusted net profit rose 2.59 times against the estimate of 2.36 times. Strong domestic demand, higher steel prices, ramping up of capacity, and a decline in coking coal consumption were the primary drivers behind the earnings of JSW Steel, according to brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher.

 

Tata Steel's consolidated sales for the June quarter was expected to fall 6.1% on year but the company reported a lower decline of 2.9%. The company's consolidated adjusted net profit on-year growth of 68% was also above the Street expectation of a 28% rise. Analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher said Tata Steel's operating performance was supported by higher prices in India, narrowing losses in the UK operations, and an improvement in the operating profit of its Netherlands unit. The company's Indian volumes, however, fell 4% on year.

 

In the case of Steel Authority of India Ltd., the adjusted net profit was in line with the Street view but the company missed analysts' expectation on net sales. The earnings performance of Jindal Steel Ltd., formerly Jindal Steel and Power Ltd., surpassed analysts' estimate on adjusted net profit but was in line with estimates on net sales.

 

Among non-ferrous manufacturers, Hindalco Industries surpassed analysts' estimate on both the top line and the bottom line by a wide margin. The aluminium and copper manufacturer, with US-based Novelis Inc. as a major subsidiary, reported a consolidated net sales growth of 12.7% on year for the June quarter, more than double the Street view of 6%. Novelis saw negligible volume growth of 1% but net sales increased 13% mainly due to higher selling price of beverage cans.

 

The top line of Hindalco was also stimulated by its domestic market performance where the downstream aluminium business revenue jumped 17% on year and sales volume increased 6% in the June quarter. There was a 12% on-year rise in revenue in the company's copper segment driven by higher copper prices during the quarter.

 

The aluminium behemoth also reported a higher-than-expected net profit number. Its consolidated adjusted net profit rose 17.6% on year, significantly above analysts' expectation of 4.9% increase. The bottom line performance was helped by a 42% jump up in other income, flat power and fuel expenses, decline in finance costs, and lower tax outgo.

 

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

The earnings of the 19 capital goods companies from the Nifty 200 missed analysts' expectation. These 19 companies, which collectively have a 28% share in the aggregate net sales of the basic industries sector, reported an on-year net sales growth of 13.8% in the June quarter, broadly in line with the Street view of a 15% growth. But it surpassed the 6.4% increase in aggregate net sales of the basic industries sector.

 

This set of companies also missed by a large degree analysts' estimate of a 20.5% on-year growth in net profit. They reported an increase of just 12.5% in their adjusted net profit. It also missed the basic industries sector's net profit growth estimate of 16.7%%.

 

Even as conventional factory capital expenditure in private capital goods companies remained muted, there was traction in government and tariff based competitive bidding capital expenditure in sub-sectors such as electricity generation, and transmission and distribution, according to Nuvama. Power electrical equipment players across high voltage transformers, switchgears, conductors, and gensets continued to enjoy multi-year high order backlogs that drove revenue in the June quarter, the brokerage said.

 

The consolidated net sales of engineering behemoth Larsen & Toubro Ltd. made up a little over half the aggregate net sales of the capital goods companies and around one-third of their aggregate adjusted net profit for the June quarter. L&T's consolidated net sales increased 15.5% on year in the June quarter, in line with the market expectation of a 14.4% growth.

 

But L&T missed the Street view of a 36% growth on its consolidated net profit growth and reported a lower rise of 30%. A rise in revenue from three key segments--energy projects, hi-tech manufacturing, and infrastructure projects--spurred the revenue growth. The bottom line growth was, however, lower as the operating profit growth trailed the revenue growth of the company.

 

Excluding L&T, the 18 capital goods companies' performance was even lower than the market expectation. The aggregate revenue of these companies rose 11.9% on year in the June quarter, missing analysts' estimate of 15.7%, while their aggregate adjusted net profit went up by just 4.9% which missed by a wide margin the Street view of a 13.7% growth.

 

Cummins India Ltd.'s on-year growth of its revenue and adjusted net profit both surpassed analysts' estimates. The company's revenue from operations jumped up 26% on year, much higher than the Street view of 12% revenue growth. Brokerage Reliance Securities said in a research note Cummins India's domestic power generation segment generated 31% on-year growth driven by broad-based demand from quick commerce, mission-critical sectors like airports and roads, and the manufacturing sector. Railways and construction contributed to the company's domestic industrial business.

 

On other hand, Siemens Ltd. missed analysts' estimates for both revenue and net profit. The company's net sales in the June quarter increased 16.2% on year, missing the Street view of 25.6% by a wide margin. Its adjusted net profit fall of 5.2% on year came as a negative surprise for analysts who expected the bottom line of the company to go up 13.3%.

 

The top line growth of Siemens was restricted on account of a decline in revenue from two key verticals--digital industries and low voltage motors. The adjusted net profit of the company was weighed down by a fall in other income and rise in effective tax rate, according to brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher.

 

CEMENT, REALTY

The cement companies had a revenue share of 10% among basic industries sector companies from the Nifty 200 index, while real estate companies had a revenue share of 3% in the June quarter. Cement companies beat Street view on revenue but missed that on net profit. Real estate companies beat analysts' estimates on both net sales and net profit.

 

An uptick in demand and higher cement prices helped the four cement companies--UltraTech Cement Ltd., Shree Cement Ltd., ACC Ltd., and Ambuja Cements Ltd.--report a net sales growth of 14.4% on year, beating the Street view of 12.8% and also the 6.4% increase in aggregate net sales estimate for the basic industries sector. But their adjusted net profit growth of 38.1% missed analysts' estimate of a 44% growth. It, however, surpassed the basic industries sector's net profit growth estimate of 16.7%.

 

The six real estate companies in the Nifty 200 reported a net sales growth of 19.4% on year, in line with the Street's expectation of 17.9% growth. It surpassed the sector's net sales growth of 6.4%. Their adjusted net profit growth of 11.2% on year surpassed the Street view of 6.7% growth but missed the overall basic industries sector's net profit growth of 16.7%.

 

QoQ PERFORMANCE

Seasonality and other factors appear to have led to a sales and earnings decline on a quarter-on-quarter basis for the 40 basic industries sector companies in the June quarter. The aggregate net sales of the companies declined 11% on quarter. In the same quarter a year ago, the net sales had fallen 11.5% on quarter.

 

The 11% on-quarter decline in the June quarter was lower than the decline in at least four previous June quarters. Of the 40 companies, 31 reported an on-quarter fall in net sales and only nine saw net sales go up.

 

The adjusted net profit of the 40 companies was down 21.8% on quarter in the June quarter. The fall was higher than that in the same quarter of 2024 when the adjusted net profit had declined 20% on quarter but was lower than the 32?ll reported in the June quarter of 2023. Only 11 companies reported an on-quarter increase with the rest seeing a decline.

 

The following table shows the June quarter performance of the 40 companies in the basic industries sector vis-a-vis analysts' average estimate for each company as well as against the average estimates for the sector and the Nifty 200 index on the aggregate:

 

Company	PAT beat analysts' estimate	Adjusted PAT growth %	PAT growth estimate %	PAT beat sector estimate	PAT beat Nifty 200 estimate	Net sales beat analysts' estimate	Net sales growth %	Net sales growth estimate %	Net sales beat sector estimate	Net sales beat Nifty 200 estimate
Basic Industries sector		18.6	16.7				8	6.4
Nifty 200 index		9.4	10.3				5.6	2.1
ABB India	No	-20.7	7.2	No	No	Yes	12.2	11.8	Yes	Yes
ACC	No	4.4	55.5	No	No	Yes	17.1	10.7	Yes	Yes
Ambuja Cements	No	16.9	39.9	Yes	Yes	Yes	22.6	15.8	Yes	Yes
APL Apollo Tubes	No	22.8	28.5	Yes	Yes	No	3.9	6.5	No	Yes
Astral	No	-32.6	5.3	No	No	No	-1.6	7.1	No	No
Bharat Dynamics	No	154.3	397	Yes	Yes	No	29.7	30.3	Yes	Yes
Bharat Electronics	Yes	24.9	15.5	Yes	Yes	No	5.2	14.6	No	Yes
Bharat Heavy Electricals	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	No	0	21.9	No	No
CG Power and Industrial Solutions	No	11.6	18.3	No	Yes	Yes	29.2	23.7	Yes	Yes
Cochin Shipyard	Yes	3.9	-15.3	No	No	Yes	37.7	9.7	Yes	Yes
Container Corp. of India	No	0.9	22	No	No	No	2.5	9.1	No	Yes
Cummins India	Yes	29.9	11.5	Yes	Yes	Yes	26.2	11.9	Yes	Yes
DLF	No	18.1	33.4	Yes	Yes	Yes	99.4	39	Yes	Yes
Godrej Properties	Yes	15.4	-35	No	Yes	No	-41.2	59.3	No	No
Hindalco Industries	Yes	17.6	4.9	Yes	Yes	Yes	12.7	6	Yes	Yes
Hindustan Aeronautics	Yes	-4.1	-12.1	No	No	No	10.8	11.8	Yes	Yes
Hindustan Zinc	Yes	-6.5	-11.1	No	No	Yes	-5	-5.1	No	No
IRB Infrastructure Developers	Yes	44.6	30.4	Yes	Yes	Yes	13.3	7.3	Yes	Yes
Jindal Steel	Yes	11.5	-17.8	No	Yes	Yes	-9.7	-10.2	No	No
JSW Steel	Yes	158.5	136.4	Yes	Yes	Yes	0.5	0	No	No
Larsen & Toubro	No	29.8	35.9	Yes	Yes	Yes	15.5	14.4	Yes	Yes
Lodha Developers	Yes	42	35.2	Yes	Yes	Yes	22.7	21.9	Yes	Yes
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders	No	-35	-9.3	No	No	No	11.4	17.5	Yes	Yes
National Aluminium Co.	No	77	84.4	Yes	Yes	No	33.3	33.5	Yes	Yes
NMDC	Yes	-0.8	-6.8	No	No	Yes	23.4	22.4	Yes	Yes
Oberoi Realty	No	-27.9	-4.1	No	No	No	-29.7	-3.8	No	No
Polycab India	Yes	49.5	29.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	25.7	20.7	Yes	Yes
Premier Energies	Yes	55.3	45.2	Yes	Yes	No	9.9	11.5	Yes	Yes
Prestige Estates Projects	Yes	25.8	-17.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	23.9	-1.4	Yes	Yes
Rail Vikas Nigam	N.A.	-41.3	N.A.	No	No	N.A.	-3.4	N.A.	No	No
Shree Cement	Yes	94.7	71.8	Yes	Yes	No	2.3	7.3	No	No
Siemens	No	-5.2	13.3	No	No	No	16.2	25.6	Yes	Yes
Steel Authority of India	No	112.6	251.8	Yes	Yes	Yes	8	7.9	Yes	Yes
Tata Steel	Yes	67.7	28.2	Yes	Yes	Yes	-2.9	-6.1	No	No
The Phoenix Mills	No	3.3	18.8	No	No	No	5.4	13.4	No	Yes
The Supreme Industries	No	-26	-10.5	No	No	No	-1	6.3	No	No
Tube Investments of India	Yes	6.4	1.7	No	No	No	2.4	5.1	No	No
UltraTech Cement	Yes	43	37.5	Yes	Yes	No	13.1	13.4	Yes	Yes
Vedanta	Yes	-11.7	-17.6	No	No	Yes	5.8	1.7	No	Yes
Waaree Energies	Yes	89.1	65.2	Yes	Yes	No	29.8	31.5	Yes	Yes

 

End

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.