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Informist, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025

By Arya S. Biju

MUMBAI - The September-quarter earnings of the five services sector companies that are a part of the Nifty 200 painted a mixed picture. While the aggregate top line of these five players grew the most over 13 quarters, their bottom line declined for the second consecutive quarter. 

The combined net sales of these five companies grew by over 88% year over year in the September quarter, driven by a nearly threefold jump in Eternal Ltd.'s revenue, the only Nifty 50 constituent in the pack. This is well above the 50% on-year growth analysts had expected for the sector and the nearly 8% growth in the cumulative net sales of the Nifty 200 companies. 

Eternal, however, clarified that the 183% on-year jump in its September-quarter sales is not a like-for-like comparison, as the shift in the framework of its quick-commerce platform Blinkit to an inventory-based model means its revenue now includes the full value of goods sold rather than just marketplace commissions. On a like-for-like basis, the food delivery company's adjusted revenue grew 65% on year and 22% on quarter. 

Meanwhile, the bottom line tells a different story. The cumulative net profit of the four services-sector companies, excluding Swiggy, which reported a net loss, fell short of the Street's expectations. The aggregate net profit of the four companies fell 4% on year in the reporting quarter, compared with expectations of nearly 7% growth. This was also lower than the 11% on-year growth in net profit of the Nifty 200 companies. 

The net profit for the five companies was also skewed by Eternal, which reported a steep decline in its net profit due to the restructuring of Blinkit. The sector's profit was also impacted by an over 93% on-year jump in total expenses, outpacing the 88% increase in revenue. The net profit margin of the four companies excluding Swiggy contracted to 4.1% in the September quarter from around 6% in the June quarter and 12% in the year-ago quarter. 

Including Swiggy, the five services companies would have reported an aggregate net loss of INR 3.42 billion in the reporting quarter, lower than the aggregate net loss of INR 4.79 billion they had reported in the June quarter. However, in the corresponding quarter a year ago, they had reported an aggregate net profit of INR 1.60 billion. 

While four of the five companies outperformed the 8% growth in cumulative net sales reported by the Nifty 200 companies, only Eternal and Swiggy outpaced the over 50% growth in sales expected for the sector. In terms of net profit, three of the five companies outperformed both the cumulative growth in net profit of the Nifty 200 companies and estimates for the sector.

 

On an individual basis, excluding Swiggy and Jubilant FoodWorks, all others missed analysts' net profit estimates. While Swiggy outpaced analysts' estimates for both revenue and net loss for the quarter, Jubilant FoodWorks reported a better-than-expected top line and a bottom line largely in line with Street expectations. Eternal beat Street's view for its top line but missed the expectation for its bottom line by a wide margin. Meanwhile, The Indian Hotels Co. and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. failed to meet the Street's expectations for both top line and bottom line. 
 

OUTLIERS
The sector's September-quarter figures were skewed by two quick-commerce and food delivery companies, Swiggy and Eternal, which accounted for around 80% of the total revenue of the five companies under review. 

Swiggy continued its loss-making journey in the September quarter, extending losses for the ninth straight quarter since the September quarter of 2023. The Bengaluru-based online food ordering and delivery company's consolidated net loss widened on year in the September quarter, driven by a surge in total expenses, including advertising and sales promotion costs that nearly doubled on year and a double-digit increase in expenses related to purchases of stock-in-trade and delivery charges.
 

Swiggy's consolidated net loss of INR 10.92 billion was only marginally lower than the INR 11.05 billion the Street had expected. On the other hand, its top line for the quarter grew by over 54% on year, its fastest pace since listing, supported by robust growth in gross order value. It reported a consolidated revenue of INR 55.61 billion for the quarter, slightly above the analysts' estimate of INR 54.88 billion. Another food delivery major, Eternal, proved both a saviour and a saboteur for the sector in the September quarter. While the company helped boost the sector's aggregate top line for the reporting quarter, a steep fall in its net profit dragged down the sector's combined bottom line.
   
Eternal's revenue for the quarter increased about threefold on year to INR 136 billion, compared with the Street's estimate of INR 87.57 billion, driven by strong order growth and a hike in platform fees. The quick commerce company's consolidated net profit, however, declined by over 63% on year to INR 650 million in the reporting quarter, compared with the Street's estimate of INR 1.12 billion. While the company exceeded the sector's revenue growth estimate, its bottom line fell short of expectations. However, a change in the business model of the company's Blinkit business renders the overall financial performance incomparable with previous quarters, as 73% of the current consolidated sales have moved to a new operational model.

Quick-service restaurant company Jubilant FoodWorks reported a net profit of INR 623.47 million for the September quarter, higher than the INR 570.60 million expected by the Street amid strong order growth in its Domino's India business. Its revenue for the quarter rose nearly 16% year on year to INR 16.99 billion, in line with Street estimates. While the company outpaced Street expectations for the sector's net profit, it failed to meet the view for revenue. 

Among the two hospitality companies in the segment, Indian Hotels Co., which manages the Taj brand of hotels, reported subdued earnings for the September quarter with its consolidated net profit falling around 49% on year and revenue growing at its slowest pace in five quarters. 

Indian Hotels reported a consolidated net profit of INR 2.85 billion for the quarter, way below the INR 3.21 billion expected by the Street. The company's bottom line for the quarter was impacted primarily by the high base of the previous year, when it booked a one-time gain of INR 3.07 billion from reclassifying TajSATS, its airline catering business, from a joint venture to a subsidiary. Excluding this one-time gain, the company's net profit was up 15% on year. Its revenue for the quarter grew 12% year over year to INR 20.41 billion, but fell short of the Street expectations by a slight margin. 

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. reported an 11% on-year rise in its net profit to INR 3.42 billion, a shade below the INR 3.44 billion estimated by broking firm Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd., the only estimate available for its earnings. Its revenue for the quarter rose around 8% on year to INR 11.46 billion, also missing the brokerage's estimate of INR 11.64 billion. While both hospitality companies exceeded the Street's expectations for the sector's net profit, they failed to meet expectations for revenue. 

The following table shows the September quarter performance of the five services companies vis-a-vis analysts' average estimate for each company as well as against the average estimates for the sector and the Nifty 200 index: 

 

Jul-Sept 2025-26 (Apr-Mar)	PAT growth (Actual)	PAT growth (Estimate)	Revenue growth (Actual)	Revenue growth (Estimate)
Nifty 200 index	10.88	9.73	7.77	7.82
Services sector (five companies)	N.A	N.A.	88.42	50.36
Services sector (four companies excluding Swiggy)	(-)4.24	6.51	101.79	49.56

 

Company	PAT beat analysts' estimate	Adjusted PAT growth %	PAT growth estimate %	PAT beat sector estimate	PAT beat Nifty 200 growth		Net sales beat analysts' estimate	Net sales growth %	Net sales growth estimate %	Net sales beat sector estimate	Net sales beat Nifty 200 growth
Eternal	NO	(-)63.07	(-)36.18	NO	NO		YES	183.18	82.48	YES	YES
Swiggy	YES	N.A.	N.A.	N.A			YES	54.43	52.39	YES	YES
The Indian Hotels Co.	NO	15.25	29.71	YES	YES		NO	11.76	13.50	NO	YES
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp.	NO	9.17	11.75	YES	NO		NO	7.71	9.41	NO	NO
Jubilant Foodworks	YES	22.82	9.60	YES	YES		NO	15.80	15.86	NO	YES

 

End

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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