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Informist, Tuesday, Jun. 2, 2026

 

By Anshul Choudhary

 

NEW DELHI – The effect of the war in West Asia was visible on the March quarter earnings of Nifty 50 companies. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, along with InterGlobe Aviation and Tata Motors PV, almost halved the net profit growth for the group despite these index companies reporting the highest revenue growth in three years.

 

The combined net profit of Nifty 50 companies, excluding one-time items, rose 5.3% on year in the March quarter. The above-5% growth in adjusted profit was much weaker than the 9.5% growth reported by these index companies for the December quarter and the March quarter of the previous year. Including one-time items, the combined net profit of Nifty 50 companies was down nearly 1% on year during the latest quarter.

 

Analysts' estimates were available for only 49 of the index 50 and these reported a rise of 5.4% in their combined net profit, which was better than expectations of a mere 1% growth.

 

While input costs rose during the quarter, companies managed to beat expectations as they cut costs, and moved to alternative fuels to offset the hit from higher oil and gas prices, and shipping charges. Analysts' earnings estimates were not available for Adani Enterprises Ltd.

 

The adjusted net profit growth of the top 50 companies was largely hit by the poor performance of Reliance Industries Ltd., which reported a 13?cline in net profit, and InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., which reported an adjusted net loss of more than INR 24 billion compared with a net profit of INR 31 billion in the year-ago quarter. Costs for both companies jumped due to a surge in crude oil prices caused by the US-Iran war. Further, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. was a drag on the overall earnings growth of index companies yet again, as its net profit declined 24% on year.

 

Excluding Reliance, InterGlobe, and Tata Motors PV, the combined net profit of the remaining 47 companies in the benchmark index rose 11.5% on year during the March quarter. This growth was more than twice the 5.3% growth reported by all the 50 companies.

 

At the same time, strong profit growth by metal and power companies helped the index companies beat expectations by a wide margin. Excluding the three metal and four power companies, the combined net profit growth of the remaining 43 companies dropped was just over 1%, compared to above-5% growth for all the 50 companies.

 

While the Nifty 50 index companies outperformed analysts' expectations by more than four percentage points, excluding metal and power companies, the remaining companies outperformed expectations by only one percentage point.

 

The combined revenues of the Nifty 50 index companies rose 12.6% on year--higher than the 8% growth they had posted for the December quarter and the over 7% growth reported for the March quarter of the last financial year. The latest quarter was a standout quarter for large-caps as revenue growth for the Nifty 50 companies crossed the 10% mark after nearly three years.

 

The 49 companies for which analysts' estimates were available reported a rise of 12.6% in their cumulative revenue. The near-13% growth for these companies was slightly better than the 11.5% rise expected by brokerages.

 

SURGE IN COSTS

The cumulative raw material costs for the index companies surged nearly 22% on year during the March quarter--the highest year-on-year rise in more than three years. Brent crude oil prices had nearly doubled to a high of $120 per barrel in March from $60-$73 per barrel in Jan-Feb. This increased prices of fuel and raw materials such as packaging materials, rubber, aluminium, and steel.

 

While raw materials costs had been rising steadily every quarter in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), the rise was exacerbated by just one month of hit to supply as the Strait of Hormuz was closed to traffic. Given this, the rise in costs could be much higher in the June quarter as Brent crude oil futures have been around $100 per barrel for the first two months of the ongoing quarter. On Tuesday, Brent crude oil August futures were at $94 per barrel, still up 29% from before the war.

 

METALS, AUTO STAY ON TOP

Metal companies were the top performers during the quarter and surpassed the consensus estimate by a wide margin. The combined adjusted net profit of three metal companies of the Nifty 50--JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Hindalco Industries--was up nearly 60%, significantly higher than expectation of a 23% rise. This was led by the two steel makers as both companies doubled their profits, excluding exceptional items, over the previous year.

 

Steel companies in India benefited from a rise in steel prices after China announced some restrictions on steel exports before the March quarter began. Steel production in China is down due to lower demand from its property sector and that also pushed steel prices higher in India, giving respite to Indian companies, which had been struggling last year due to cheap imports from China.

 

Apart from metal companies, automobile companies continued to report revenue growth as demand remained strong after the cuts in goods and service tax lowered prices across products last year. Wholesale automobile sales volume from Indian companies rose more than 23% on year during the March quarter, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. This was even better than the 16% growth in volumes during the December quarter, the first quarter to see the full benefit of the cut in the GST.

 

Owing to higher volumes, most automobile companies, excluding Maruti Suzuki, reported better than expected earnings. The combined net profit of the five automobile companies that are part of the Nifty 50 index was largely unchanged due to the sharp drop in profit of Tata Motors PV. Excluding Tata Motors PV, the combined profit of the remaining four companies jumped more than 19% on year. This was a tad below expectations of 19.8% growth because Maruti reported a 7?cline in net profit.

 

Excluding Tata Motors PV, the combined revenue of the index automobile companies was up nearly 27%--better than expectations of a 24% rise. Including Tata Motors PV's sales growth of a mere 7%, the combined sales growth of the four auto companies dropped to nearly 17%.

 

While GST cuts have helped improve demand for automobiles, this is not true for fast-moving consumer goods companies. Large FMCG companies are still struggling - Hindustan Unilever reported only 7% growth in net profit. ITC reported a mere 5% rise in net profit as its cigarette sales took a hit after the government raised taxes, pushing product prices higher.

 

However, Nestle India and Tata Consumer Products reported strong growth in net profit and helped the sector index companies beat expectations. The four FMCG companies in the index saw their combined net profit rise more than 9%, much better than expectations of a 2?cline.

 

BANKS, PHARMA DRAG

Banks were a drag on the overall growth in net profit of Nifty 50 companies as higher credit growth was offset by lower yields on loans and a limited fall in the cost of funds. "Net interest margin (for scheduled commercial banks) reduced by 11 bps y-o-y to 2.87% in Q4FY26, reflecting continued pressure on lending rates, elevated deposit costs and the ongoing shift towards higher-cost term deposits," CARE Ratings said in a report last week.

 

Most banks in the Nifty 50 index reported a higher fall in yields on advances compared to the fall in their cost of funds, which negated the positive effect of advances rising 12-19% by the end of the March quarter. Owing to this, the net interest income of the five index banks rose nearly 5% on year, lower than expectations of a 7% rise. The five banks' net profit growth was around 7% due to lower cost of funds. This was slightly better than expectations of 4% growth in profit.

 

Pharmaceutical companies disappointed during the March quarter as lower prices of generic Revlimid hit sales and profits from the US. Three pharmaceutical companies' net profit declined more than 34% during the quarter largely due to a 86?ll in the net profit of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and a 55?ll in the net profit of Cipla Ltd. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., India's largest pharmaceutical company, reported a 8% rise in profit but this wasn't enough to offset the hit reported by Cipla and Dr. Reddy's.

 

Following are the Jan-Mar sales, adjusted net profit, and sales and profit growth of the companies part of the Nifty 50 index. All absolute numbers are in INR million and all percentage changes are year-on-year. The actual growth or fall is juxtaposed with the estimates for each company:

 

Company	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
AIRPORTS & AVIATION
Interglobe Aviation	-24,124	-19,860	N.A.	N.A.	2,24,384	2,25,693	1.29	1.88
Total	-24,124	-19,860	N.A.	N.A.	2,24,384	2,25,693	1.29	1.88
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
AUTO
Bajaj Auto	27,086	26,306	32.17	28.36	1,60,057	1,57,803	31.76	29.90
Eicher Motors +	15,200	14,386	11.58	5.61	60,801	59,406	16.01	13.35
Mahindra and Mahindra	37,373	34,934	53.35	43.34	3,96,009	3,83,404	25.28	21.30
Maruti Suzuki India	35,905	40,646	-6.92	5.38	5,24,493	5,14,525	28.21	25.77
Tata Motors PV +	56,730	40,674	-24.01	-45.51	10,54,470	11,05,343	7.19	12.36
Total	1,72,293	1,56,945	0.34	-8.60	21,95,830	22,20,480	16.62	17.93
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	NII Actual	NII Expected	NII Growth Actual	NII Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
BANKS
Axis Bank	70,713	69,355	-0.65	-2.56	1,44,572	1,47,192	4.68	6.58
HDFC Bank	1,92,211	1,91,128	9.11	8.50	3,30,816	3,36,883	3.17	5.06
ICICI Bank	1,37,017	1,27,966	8.49	1.32	2,29,791	2,26,070	8.43	6.67
Kotak Mahindra Bank	40,266	36,440	13.37	2.60	78,755	77,970	8.13	7.05
State Bank of India	1,96,838	1,93,976	5.58	4.05	4,43,800	4,66,462	4.13	9.45
Total	6,37,043	6,18,866	6.96	3.91	12,27,733	12,54,576	4.96	7.26
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
CAPITAL GOODS
Larsen and Toubro +	52,570	55,231	4.67	9.97	8,27,622	8,28,661	11.25	11.39
Total	52,570	55,231	4.67	9.97	8,27,622	8,28,661	11.25	11.39
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
CEMENT
Ultratech Cement +	29,937	27,910	20.16	12.03	2,57,995	2,60,179	11.86	12.81
Total	29,937	27,910	20.16	12.03	2,57,995	2,60,179	11.86	12.81
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
CHEMICALS
Asian Paints +	11,721	10,463	33.94	19.56	92,467	87,891	10.62	5.15
Grasim Industries	-817	-1,418	N.A.	N.A.	1,17,743	1,06,157	31.91	18.93
Total	10,904	9,045	55.53	29.01	2,10,210	1,94,048	21.62	12.27
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
DEFENCE
Bharat Electronics	22,032	21,159	4.67	0.53	1,01,772	98,696	11.60	8.22
Total	22,032	21,159	4.67	0.53	1,01,772	98,696	11.60	8.22
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
FINANCE
Bajaj Finance + *	54,646	54,401	21.99	21.44	1,17,806	1,22,801	20.11	25.20
Bajaj Finserv +	25,387	27,371	5.05	13.26	3,84,938	4,39,193	5.66	20.55
HDFC Life Insurance Co. #	4,969	5,056	4.27	6.10	2,58,294	2,64,458	7.48	10.05
Jio Financial Services +*	2,757	4,123	-12.78	30.43	3,444	4,323	28.47	61.25
SBI Life Insurance Co. #	8,046	8,182	-1.09	0.58	2,76,838	2,66,589	15.34	11.07
Shriram Finance *	30,136	27,430	40.86	28.22	67,514	69,053	21.31	24.07
Total	1,25,941	1,26,563	18.35	18.93	11,08,834	11,66,416	10.76	16.52
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
FMCG
Hindustan Unilever	27,140	26,102	6.93	2.84	1,57,330	1,61,098	6.78	9.34
ITC	51,113	44,602	4.85	-8.51	1,60,505	1,83,155	-6.95	6.18
Nestle India	11,503	9,801	29.91	10.70	67,478	62,659	22.60	13.84
Tata Consumer Products +	4,163	4,102	38.98	36.96	54,336	52,679	17.91	14.32
Total	93,919	84,607	9.23	-1.60	4,39,649	4,59,591	4.44	9.18
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
IT
HCL Technologies +	44,880	47,235	4.20	9.67	3,39,810	3,44,170	12.35	13.79
Infosys +	85,010	75,562	20.87	7.44	4,64,020	4,65,773	13.38	13.81
Tata Consultancy Services +	1,37,180	1,37,876	12.22	12.79	7,06,980	6,98,511	9.65	8.33
Tech Mahindra +	13,538	14,983	16.04	28.42	1,50,761	1,48,123	12.64	10.67
Wipro +	34,746	35,113	-2.66	-1.63	2,42,363	2,45,262	7.70	8.98
Total	3,15,354	3,10,769	11.43	9.81	19,03,934	19,01,840	10.99	10.87
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
JEWELLERY
Titan Co.	10,750	13,758	23.56	58.13	2,39,340	2,09,005	77.59	55.08
Total	10,750	13,758	23.56	58.13	2,39,340	2,09,005	77.59	55.08
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
METAL & MINING
Hindalco Industries +	67,680	47,603	28.25	-9.79	7,81,330	7,09,274	20.41	9.30
JSW Steel +	34,750	25,768	124.63	66.57	5,11,800	5,01,453	14.19	11.88
Tata Steel +	32,658	30,982	93.31	83.39	6,32,701	6,19,060	12.54	10.12
Total	1,35,088	1,04,354	58.68	22.58	19,25,831	18,29,787	16.06	10.28
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
OIL & GAS
ONGC	66,500	87,015	3.13	34.94	3,59,282	3,62,993	2.70	3.76
Reliance Industries +	1,69,710	1,93,066	-12.55	-0.52	29,40,590	28,21,371	12.50	7.94
Total	2,36,210	2,80,081	-8.64	8.33	32,99,872	31,84,364	11.34	7.45
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
PHARMA, HEALTHCARE
Apollo Hospitals +	5,293	4,752	35.86	21.98	66,055	64,522	18.12	15.38
Cipla +	5,546	7,111	-54.61	-41.80	65,412	66,501	-2.80	-1.18
Dr. Reddy's Lab +	2,209	8,952	-86.14	-43.81	75,464	82,690	-11.51	-3.04
Max Healthcare Institute +	3,422	4,391	7.28	37.64	21,429	26,327	12.21	37.86
Sun Pharmaceutical +	27,140	28,093	8.06	11.86	1,46,118	1,45,904	12.76	12.59
Total	43,611	53,300	-27.74	-11.69	3,74,478	3,85,944	4.84	8.05
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
PORTS
Adani Ports +	33,906	33,152	11.58	9.10	1,07,376	98,456	26.50	15.99
Total	33,906	33,152	11.58	9.10	1,07,376	98,456	26.50	15.99
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
POWER
Adani Enterprises +	-2,207	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.	3,24,393	N.A.	20.30	N.A.
Coal India +	1,08,392	91,222	11.15	-6.45	4,64,900	3,74,644	5.75	-14.78
NTPC	87,473	62,776	51.39	8.64	4,31,107	4,75,598	-1.81	8.33
Power Grid Corp.	45,528	44,360	5.00	2.30	99,711	1,28,086	-9.21	16.63
Total	2,39,185	1,98,358	21.01	0.36	13,20,112	9,78,328	4.93	-22.24
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
RETAIL
Trent	4,548	3,825	29.96	9.30	49,366	49,085	20.23	19.54
Total	4,548	3,825	29.96	9.30	49,366	49,085	20.23	19.54
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
SERVICES
Eternal +	1,740	1,464	346.15	275.42	1,72,920	1,79,930	196.45	208.47
Total	1,740	1,464	346.15	275.42	1,72,920	1,79,930	196.45	208.47
Company Name	PAT Actual	PAT Expected	PAT Growth Actual	PAT Growth Expected	Sales Actual	Sales Expected	Sales Growth Actual	Sales Growth Expected
	(in INR million)		(in % YoY)		(in INR million)		(in % YoY)
TELECOM
Bharti Airtel +	1,04,858	74,289	-6.06	-33.44	5,53,832	5,52,900	15.68	15.49
Total	1,04,858	74,289	-6.06	-33.44	5,53,832	5,52,900	15.68	15.49
Grand Total	22,45,764	21,53,817	5.29	0.98	1,65,41,088	1,60,77,981	12.63	9.48

 

Notes:
+ Consolidated Figure
* Net interest Income
# Net premium income
YoY: Year-on-Year
N.A.: Not Available
 

End

 

US$1 = INR 95.2650

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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