More Stories

Informist, Monday, Jun. 8, 2026

 

By Anshul Choudhary

 

MUMBAI - Mid-cap companies continued to report much higher earnings growth than their large-cap peers during the March quarter. Data suggests mid-caps managed costs better than large-caps as costs across sectors surged amid the US-Iran war, which pushed crude oil prices higher.

 

The combined net profit, excluding exceptional items, of the top 100 mid-cap companies rose 38% on year during the March quarter, significantly higher than the 12% rise reported by the top 100 large-cap companies. The 38% rise in mid-caps' net profit was the highest year-on-year growth for these companies in five quarters, or more than a year.

 

Mid-cap companies also reported a better top-line growth, with the 100 mid-caps' combined revenue up 15% during the March quarter, compared with 12% for large-caps. Both mid-caps and large-caps reported a sharp improvement in revenue growth compared with the previous few quarters. The large-caps' revenue growth was the best in two years and that of mid-caps was the highest in over three years.

 

The cut in goods and services taxes last year continued to lift demand across several sectors, helping offset the impact of higher costs due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which led to shortages. While costs rose due to the war, several companies managed to pass them on through price hikes, thereby boosting revenue.

 

Weak growth among large-caps was a drag on overall earnings growth. The combined adjusted net profit of all the companies of the Nifty 200 index was up just over 15% on year, slower than the 38% rise reported by the 100 mid-cap companies. Revenue growth for the top 200 companies was just over 12%, slightly below the near-15% rise reported by mid-caps.

 

For the 189 index companies for which earnings estimates were available, the combined net profit rose 14% on year, comfortably beating expectations of a 5% rise. Revenue for these companies was up 12% year-on-year, slightly below expectations of a 14% growth. Including one-time items, the net profit of 189 index companies was up nearly 27% and the same for all the 200 companies rose over 25%.

 

Seven companies reported losses, excluding exceptional items, during the March quarter, more than the five companies that reported losses during the December quarter. Revenue growth breadth slightly worsened during the quarter, with 22 companies out of the top 200 reporting revenue declines, compared with 19 in the December quarter.

 

BIG COS LAGGARDS

The Nifty 50 companies reported the weakest growth, with their cumulative adjusted net profit up just over 5% during the March quarter. This was slower than the 25% rise in net profit for Nifty Next 50 index companies and 38% for companies in the Nifty Midcap 100 index. The Nifty Next 50 comprises the 50 companies that rank immediately after the Nifty 50 by market capitalisation and together these two sets constitute the Nifty 100 index.

 

The earnings of the top 50 large-cap companies were hit, as they saw a larger increase in raw material costs than the remaining large-caps and mid-caps. Raw material costs for the Nifty 50 index companies rose 22% on year--the highest year-on-year rise in more than three years. In comparison, raw material costs for Nifty Next 50 index companies were up just 4% on year, while for the 100 mid-cap companies, they were up 18%.

 

Brent crude oil prices had nearly doubled to a high of $120 per barrel in March from $60-$73 a barrel in Jan-Feb. This increased the prices of fuel and raw materials such as packaging materials, rubber, aluminium, and steel.

 

For all Nifty 200 companies, the cost of materials rose 15% year-on-year, but they offset higher raw material costs by cutting other expenses. While raw material costs rose 15%, overall expenses were up only 11%--slightly slower than the 12% revenue growth, thereby aiding margins.

 

The aggregate net profit margin of the Nifty 200 companies, excluding exceptional items, was 12.8% during the March quarter. This was a tad better than the 12.4% margin in the December quarter and the 12.5% margin in the year-ago March quarter.

 

SECTORAL TRENDS

Of the 21 sectors in the Nifty 200 index, 17 reported better-than-expected results, two reported in-line results, and only two sectors performed worse than expected. All 21 sectors reported a rise in revenue for the March quarter.

 

Some of the smaller sectors reported sharp outperformance, with telecommunications, cement, power, and consumer durables companies reporting a 16-26% rise in cumulative adjusted net profit, compared with expectations of a 4-28?cline. Other big sectors, such as banks, oil and gas, automobile, information technology, and metals, reported better-than-expected results, but growth was slower than that of the Nifty 200 index companies overall.

 

Metal companies were the top performers among large sectors as steel product prices improved this year amid lower supply from China. JSW Steel Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and Jindal Steel Ltd. each doubled their profits during the March quarter. Nine metal and mining companies of the Nifty 200 index reported a 59% rise in cumulative net profit and a 19% rise in revenue.

 

Automobile companies, excluding Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., reported strong earnings growth as lower GST continued to drive consumer demand for cars and motorcycles. Excluding Tata Motors PV, nine automobile companies of the Nifty 200 index reported a 15% rise in net profit and a 24% rise in revenue. The net profit growth was slower than revenue growth because the March gas shortage, caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, forced companies to use costlier alternatives.

 

Including Tata Motors PV, the net profit of 10 automobile companies dropped sharply to 2%, compared with a 15% rise excluding Tata Motors PV. The revenue growth of all automobile companies in the index was nearly 17%, as compared with a 24% rise without Tata Motors PV.

 

Banks outperformed expectations, but analysts had already estimated weak earnings growth due to competition among banks for deposits. The competition has forced banks to keep deposit rates high even as loan yields have fallen since the Reserve Bank of India cut the repo rate by 125 basis points in 2025 to 5.25%, squeezing banks' margins.

 

The net profit of 16 banks grew 11% on year during the March quarter, slightly lower than the over 12% growth reported just a quarter ago. Banks' net profit growth slowed despite credit growth for scheduled banks improving to 16% on-year by the end of the reporting quarter, compared with a nearly 14% rise at the end of December.

 

Lower yields on loans hit banks' top-line growth, with net interest income at 16 banks rising over 6%, compared with more than 8% a quarter ago. While banks' earnings slowed during the March quarter, they were still better than the previous year, when credit growth was weak. Credit growth for scheduled banks was only 11% a year ago, as compared with 16% now. A year ago, these banks had reported a mere 3% growth in net profit and a 4% growth in net interest income.

 

Oil & gas sector earnings were mixed, with oil refiners reporting strong growth that offset weak earnings at oil exploration and production companies. Excluding the three state-run oil refiners, cumulative earnings of six oil and gas companies were down nearly 10% on year. Including the three refiners, the nine companies reported nearly 12% growth in net profit.

 

A 13?cline in Reliance Industries Ltd.'s net profit weighed on overall sector earnings growth during the March quarter. Without RIL, the eight companies in the sector reported a nearly 30% jump in net profit, compared with 12% growth including RIL.

 

The following is a snapshot of the companies in the Nifty 50, the Nifty Next 50, the Nifty 100, the Nifty Midcap 100, and the Nifty 200 for the December quarter, along with year-on-year and sequential changes, in %, juxtaposed with the consensus estimates from the Informist Poll:

 

Indices	Revenue	Other Income	Total Income	Total Expenses	Material Cost	Employee Expenses	Depreciation	Finance Costs	Other Expenses	PAT	Adj. PAT
NIFTY 50	POLL: 11.52%										POLL: 0.93%
YoY	12.65	-7.22	8.80	11.27	22.02	7.30	8.65	1.67	10.86	-0.98	5.29
QoQ	9.28	1.19	4.98	5.57	14.24	1.03	2.68	1.11	10.36	14.88	6.97
NIFTY NEXT 50	POLL: 16.13%										POLL: 5.61%
YoY	9.81	12.35	10.08	9.23	3.46	5.72	16.14	4.92	33.40	24.34	25.25
QoQ	9.38	8.76	7.93	7.26	5.45	3.12	8.97	0.99	24.99	19.80	22.29
NIFTY 100	POLL: 13.00%										POLL: 2.15%
YoY	11.60	-2.81	9.28	10.46	14.46	6.99	10.25	2.69	16.14	6.33	11.55
QoQ	9.32	3.06	6.07	6.23	10.84	1.43	4.03	1.07	13.95	16.50	11.90
NIFTY MIDCAP 100	POLL: 16.77%										POLL: 20.84%
YoY	14.61	1.06	12.54	12.10	18.34	6.60	13.44	1.98	18.96	149.09	38.12
QoQ	6.97	9.05	6.41	5.70	12.10	0.85	6.45	0.22	13.06	126.63	17.24
NIFTY 200	POLL: 13.70%										POLL: 4.68%
YoY	12.16	-2.02	9.88	10.77	15.27	6.92	10.86	2.53	16.69	25.20	15.19
QoQ	8.86	4.26	6.14	6.13	11.10	1.33	4.50	0.87	13.77	33.56	12.75

 

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 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

 

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