More Stories

Informist, Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

 

MUMBAI – India Inc. is projected to report an 8.5-9.0% on-year growth in revenue for the March quarter supported by the sustained volume growth in automobiles and white goods following the rationalisation of the goods and services tax rates in September, according to a release by Crisil Intelligence based on an analysis of more than 400 listed companies. However, the corporate revenue growth is expected to moderate to 8.0–8.5% in the June quarter as price hikes spurred by geopolitical developments, especially the West Asia conflict, begin to temper demand, it said.

The initial shock from higher crude oil and natural gas prices and availability concerns, combined with trade and shipping disruptions stemming from the West Asia conflict, is expected to have led to a 25–50 basis points on-year margin contraction in the March quarter for the analysed set, Crisil said. Sectors with higher dependence on crude oil, natural gas, or their derivatives, either as fuel or feedstock, such as airline services, ceramics, chemicals, coal mining, fertilisers, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, shipping and tyres, are expected to have clocked a sharper decline of around 100 bps on year in their margins.

 

"In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, margin pressure is expected to broaden and deepen, driven by inventory roll over and replacement cost reset as companies navigate an increasingly tight trade-off between passing on higher input and logistics costs through selective price hikes and preserving demand, volumes and market share, particularly in price-sensitive categories such as travel and consumer staples," Miren Lodha, senior director at Crisil Intelligence, said in the press release. Lodha expects the aggregate margin of India Inc. to decline 75–100 basis points on year to a 12-quarter low in the June quarter, with around two-thirds of the sectors reporting a contraction in margin. "The impact is likely to be most severe for sectors directly linked to energy and feedstock, where margins may decline 200–300 bps on-year," he added.

 

Exports of textiles, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods were impacted by the disruption in shipping and increase in freight costs by 2-3 times on the India-West Asia route, Crisil said. The information technology sector, on the other hand, is expected to benefit from the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar amid the macroeconomic uncertainties. So far, stable retail fuel prices have insulated a large part of India Inc. from a sharper rise in logistics costs. However, if pump prices go up, sectors where diesel is a major operating cost, such as cement, metals and mining, construction, cold chain and e-commerce or last-mile delivery, are likely to see a more visible impact on margins, Sachidanand Choubey, associate director at Crisil Intelligence, said in the release.  End

 

Reported by Arya S. Biju

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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 (22) 6985-4000 

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.