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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

 

By Anshul Choudhary

 

MUMBAI – The revenue growth of Nifty 50 index companies improved in the December quarter as cuts in the Goods and Services Tax led to higher consumption demand in some sectors. However, the gains from lower GST were small for most companies, except those in the automobile sector, and this resulted in revenue growth staying just short of double digits. The growth in net profit was a different, yet same story – profit growth tripled on year but remained short of the double-digit mark.

 

The combined net profit of the Nifty 50 companies, excluding one-time items and labour code implementation cost, rose just over 9% on year – thrice the 3% growth reported in the December quarter of last year and a sharp turnaround from the slight fall reported in the September quarter.

 

Tata Motors continued to be a drag on both revenue growth and profit growth. Excluding Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, the revenue growth of the remaining 49 companies was a respectable 12%, the highest in 11 quarters, and higher than the 9% including Tata Motors PV. Excluding Tata Motors PV, the net profit growth for the remaining 49 companies was again a respectable 13%, the highest in eight quarters, and higher than the 9% including Tata Motors PV.

 

Revenues of the Nifty 50 companies rose 9% on year during the December quarter – around two percentage points higher than the growth reported in the year-ago quarter but only slightly better than the growth in the trailing quarter. While the 9% revenue growth was the highest in 11 quarters, the top 50 companies had last reported a combined sales growth of more than 10% during the March quarter of 2023 – nearly three years ago.

 

A sharp improvement in demand was visible for automobiles, while other sectors dependent on consumption such as fast-moving consumer goods and banks saw only a slight improvement in demand.

 

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle Ltd. reported a 26% year-on-year fall in consolidated revenue and an adjusted loss of nearly INR 19 billion, which was the major reason behind index companies' growth falling short of the 10% growth mark.

 

Better-than-expected growth in the net profit of banks, information technology, and metal companies helped the index companies beat expectations for the December quarter. The adjusted net profit of 47 companies in the index, for which estimates were available, was up 9% on year, better than expectations of a near 3% rise as per an Informist Poll. Earnings estimates were not available for Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Finserv, and Jio Financial Services.

 

The revenue growth of these 47 companies was also slightly better than expectations, with sales up nearly 9% on year compared with an Informist Poll estimate of a near 8% rise. Automobile, financial service, and consumer companies boosted revenue growth.

 

HIT FROM LABOUR CODES

The new labour codes forced companies to make higher provisions towards gratuity and leave encashment, which eroded a big chunk of profits of Indian companies. Of the top 50 companies, 42 reported a one-time hit due to new labour codes. Out of these, 13 reported the labour code impact as an "exceptional item" and 29 reported the impact under "employee expense".

 

The 42 companies recorded a cumulative cost of INR 136.58 billion during the December quarter on account of the labour code changes. Excluding the labour code hit, the combined net profit of the Nifty 50 companies was up 5.4%. For the 49 companies excluding Tata Motors PV, the net profit was up nearly 7% without the labour code hit.

 

Including exceptional items and labour code implementation cost, the cumulative net profit of the top 50 companies fell more than 1%. To iterate, the net profit growth was over 5% excluding the hit from labour codes and more than 9% excluding all exceptional items, including the cost of implementing the new labour codes.

 

BANKS SURPRISE, METALS ON TOP

Banks managed to surprise analysts in the December quarter as their cost of funds declined more than expected. This helped most banks limit the fall in net interest margin, with two banks – HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank – not seeing any fall in their NIMs.

 

The Reserve Bank of India cut its benchmark repo rate by 125 basis points in 2025, which led to a fall in loan rates for most of the year. However, banks started seeing significant benefit of lower deposit rates starting the December quarter. The cost of funds for four out of the five banks in the Nifty 50 index dropped 40-50 basis points on year during the quarter. State Bank of India's cost of deposits was unchanged on year.

 

The five banks' cumulative net profit, excluding one-time items and labour code implementation cost, was up over 13% on year, much better than the expectations of a near 5% rise. Excluding the five banks, the adjusted net profit growth of the remaining 45 companies in index slowed to 7.6% from the 9% growth including the five banks.

 

The growth in banks' earnings was largely driven by lower cost as benefits from cuts in GST, which came into effect from Sept. 22, were limited. Advances of five banks at end of the quarter were up 10-15% on year, only marginally better than the 10-14% rise reported at the end of the September quarter. The five banks' net interest income during the December quarter rose more than 7% on year, better than expectations of a near 5% rise.

 

Metal companies had a bumper quarter with the net profit of JSW Steel and Tata Steel rising threefold and sixfold, respectively. Tata Steel's net profit jumped as its Netherlands operations made a profit during the quarter compared to a loss a year ago. JSW Steel's net profit surged as it got a deferred tax of over INR 14 billion related to its stake purchase in Bhushan Power and Steel through a joint venture.

 

The cumulative net profit of the three metal companies in the Nifty 50 index doubled on year. However, these companies' revenue growth was much lower at 10%. 

 

Excluding metal companies and banks, the adjusted net profit growth of the 42 companies slowed to nearly 4% on year. To iterate, the adjusted net profit growth of all the top 50 companies was over 9% during the December quarter.

 

MIXED IMPACT OF GST

Automobile companies, excluding Tata Motors PV, were among the top performers as lower GST led to a spurt in demand for vehicles. Wholesale automobile sales volume in India rose 16% on year in the December quarter, a sharp improvement from the 6% growth a quarter ago, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

 

Higher volumes helped the four automobile companies in the Nifty 50 index, excluding Tata Motors PV, report a near 26% rise in cumulative revenue, a tad lower than expectations of a 28% rise. Higher sales led to a 26% rise in the adjusted net profit of the four companies, which was also slightly below expectations.

 

Tata Motors PV continued to face the impact of lower production at its UK unit Jaguar Land Rover due to a cyberattack at its plant. JLR's wholesale volumes were 59,100 for the December quarter, down 43% on year.

 

A dismal quarter for Tata Motors PV more than offset the growth in earnings of the other four automobile companies in the Nifty 50 index. Including Tata Motors PV, the cumulative adjusted net profit of the five automobile companies fell 24% on year. The combined revenue of the five companies was down 1% compared to the 26% rise excluding Tata Motors PV.

 

While the cuts in GST gave a new life to automobile sales, fast-moving consumer goods companies saw limited benefits. Destocking by dealers continued to hit sales of FMCG companies in the December quarter as well. Revenue growth of the four Nifty 50 FMCG companies was nearly 8% on year—slightly lower than expectations of 8.5% on year.

 

However, FMCG companies benefited from lower prices of raw materials such as palm oil, tea, and coffee. The four FMCG companies' adjusted net profit rose nearly 13% on year, much better than analysts' expectations of a near 6% rise.

 

WEAK PERFORMERS

Oil companies had a poor quarter due to higher raw material cost. The two oil companies – Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Reliance Industries – reported a less than 1% rise in cumulative net profit during the December quarter. Excluding these two companies, the net profit growth of the remaining 48 companies rose to nearly 11% compared to 9% for all the 50 companies.

 

Power companies witnessed weak demand during the quarter, which hit their output and realisation. The four power companies in the main index reported a marginal rise in revenue. These companies' adjusted net profit was down over 5% on year, largely due to a 16% drop in the net profit of Coal India.

 

Excluding oil and power companies, the growth in adjusted net profit of the remaining 44 companies in the index was more than 12%. Excluding another top loser, Tata Motors PV, the net profit growth for the remaining 43 companies jumped to nearly 17% on year, the highest in eight quarters or two years.

 

Following are the Oct-Dec actual sales, adjusted net profit, and sales and profit growth of the 47 companies of the National Stock Exchange's Nifty 50 index for which earnings estimates were available. 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 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)
AIRPORTS & AVIATION
Interglobe Aviation	20,794	16,465	-14.85	-32.58	2,34,719	2,29,777	6.16	3.92
Total	20,794	16,465	-14.85	-32.58	2,34,719	2,29,777	6.16	3.92
AUTO
Bajaj Auto	25,641	26,327	21.60	24.85	1,52,203	1,54,201	18.85	20.41
Eicher Motors +	14,761	13,841	26.11	18.25	61,140	60,343	22.94	21.34
Mahindra and Mahindra	40,295	40,440	35.93	36.42	3,89,417	3,92,805	25.77	26.86
Maruti Suzuki India	43,879	46,548	19.91	27.21	4,98,915	5,09,741	28.74	31.54
Tata Motors PV +	-18,890	-31,291	N.A.	N.A.	7,01,080	7,15,695	-25.79	-24.24
Total	1,05,686	95,865	-24.44	-31.47	18,02,755	18,32,785	-0.93	0.72
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	69,237	59,542	9.83	-5.55	1,42,866	1,40,468	5.00	3.24
HDFC Bank	1,94,538	1,83,957	16.24	9.92	3,26,150	3,26,188	6.40	6.41
ICICI Bank	1,14,629	1,24,165	-2.79	5.29	2,19,322	2,20,267	7.67	8.13
Kotak Mahindra Bank	35,417	34,772	7.17	5.22	75,646	75,525	5.12	4.95
State Bank of India	2,10,282	1,73,573	24.49	2.76	4,51,904	4,22,758	9.04	2.00
Total	6,24,101	5,76,009	13.42	4.68	12,15,887	11,85,205	7.34	4.63
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 +	45,589	43,166	35.73	28.51	7,14,497	7,46,964	10.49	15.51
Total	45,589	43,166	35.73	28.51	7,14,497	7,46,964	10.49	15.51
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 +	18,146	14,856	33.48	9.28	2,18,297	2,06,678	22.78	16.25
Total	18,146	14,856	33.48	9.28	2,18,297	2,06,678	22.78	16.25
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 +	12,175	11,955	9.64	7.65	88,670	90,041	3.71	5.32
Grasim Industries	-1,268	-1,274	N.A.	N.A.	1,04,318	98,828	28.47	21.70
Total	10,907	10,681	15.81	13.40	1,92,988	1,88,869	15.77	13.30
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	16,067	14,461	22.08	9.88	71,220	66,673	23.73	15.83
Total	16,067	14,461	22.08	9.88	71,220	66,673	23.73	15.83
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 + *	42,431	51,826	-0.08	22.04	1,13,178	1,16,327	20.63	23.98
HDFC Life Insurance #	5,268	3,993	26.95	-3.78	1,82,424	1,96,629	8.77	17.24
SBI Life Insurance #	7,122	5,237	29.30	-4.92	3,02,453	2,91,070	21.82	17.24
Shriram Finance *	27,186	24,997	30.68	20.16	65,740	66,509	17.61	18.99
Total	82,007	86,053	12.45	18.00	6,63,795	6,70,535	17.34	18.53
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	28,150	25,556	12.65	2.27	1,58,050	1,61,561	4.35	6.67
ITC	53,627	51,503	9.59	5.25	1,80,171	1,85,010	5.65	8.49
Nestle India	8,611	7,356	23.70	5.67	56,670	52,770	18.56	10.40
Tata Consumer Products +	4,075	4,093	42.95	43.58	51,120	50,147	15.04	12.85
Total	94,462	88,508	12.81	5.70	4,46,012	4,49,488	7.67	8.51
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 +	50,320	47,492	9.61	3.45	3,38,720	3,31,857	13.32	11.03
Infosys +	79,430	73,748	16.71	8.36	4,54,790	4,51,040	8.90	8.00
Tata Consultancy Services +	1,40,480	1,29,794	13.47	4.84	6,70,870	6,68,008	4.87	4.42
Tech Mahindra +	13,944	13,805	41.82	40.41	1,43,932	1,41,683	8.34	6.64
Wipro +	34,218	33,494	2.03	-0.13	2,35,558	2,33,882	5.54	4.79
Total	3,18,392	2,98,332	13.25	6.12	18,43,870	18,26,471	7.68	6.67
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.	16,080	15,429	62.42	55.84	2,25,220	2,24,967	39.91	39.76
Total	16,080	15,429	62.42	55.84	2,25,220	2,24,967	39.91	39.76
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
Hindalco Industries +	47,180	42,450	24.95	12.42	6,65,210	6,59,645	13.93	12.97
Jsw Steel +	26,680	14,087	225.37	71.80	4,59,910	4,45,111	11.15	7.57
Tata Steel +	28,286	24,318	524.65	437.02	5,70,024	5,77,123	6.25	7.58
Total	1,02,146	80,855	102.32	60.15	16,95,144	16,81,878	10.49	9.63
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	83,719	71,462	1.60	-13.27	3,15,465	3,14,869	-6.44	-6.61
Reliance Industries +	1,86,450	1,96,632	0.57	6.06	26,49,050	25,21,358	10.38	5.06
Total	2,70,169	2,68,095	0.88	0.11	29,64,515	28,36,227	8.31	3.62
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 +	5,215	4,690	40.08	25.99	64,774	63,012	17.20	14.01
Cipla +	9,517	12,423	-39.40	-20.90	70,745	74,649	0.02	5.54
Dr. Reddy's Lab +	13,269	11,232	-6.14	-20.55	87,534	83,447	4.44	-0.44
Max Healthcare Institute +	3,492	3,883	11.76	24.27	20,675	25,019	10.66	33.91
Sun Pharmaceutical +	38,583	29,813	19.84	-7.40	1,55,205	1,47,656	13.49	7.97
Total	70,076	62,041	1.73	-9.94	3,98,933	3,93,783	9.22	7.81
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)
PORTS
Adani Ports +	31,997	32,662	25.57	28.18	97,046	92,919	21.86	16.68
Total	31,997	32,662	25.57	28.18	97,046	92,919	21.86	16.68
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
Coal India +	71,575	62,867	-15.85	-26.09	3,49,242	3,21,589	-5.25	-12.75
NTPC	49,869	49,082	5.85	4.18	4,06,438	4,31,046	-1.75	4.20
Power Grid Corp.	41,602	37,526	6.83	-3.63	1,10,053	1,10,974	8.74	9.65
Total	1,63,046	1,49,475	-4.71	-12.64	8,65,733	8,63,609	-2.01	-2.25
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	6,655	5,428	41.80	15.65	52,595	53,467	15.98	17.91
Total	6,655	5,428	41.80	15.65	52,595	53,467	15.98	17.91
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 +	1,020	781	72.88	32.35	1,63,150	1,62,271	201.85	200.22
Total	1,020	781	72.88	32.35	1,63,150	1,62,271	201.85	200.22
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)
TELECOM
Bharti Airtel +	68,873	73,082	-4.81	1.00	5,39,816	5,39,341	19.62	19.51
Total	68,873	73,082	-4.81	1.00	5,39,816	5,39,341	19.62	19.51
Grand Total	20,66,211	19,32,243	9.12	2.05	1,44,06,192	1,42,51,905	8.93	7.76

 

Notes:

+ Consolidated Figure

NII: Net interest Income

Y-o-Y: Year-on-Year

# Net premium income

N.A.: Not Applicable

 

End

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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