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Informist, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026

By Arya S. Biju

MUMBAI – Companies across more than half of the sectors in the Nifty 200 index outperformed estimates for both cumulative net profit and revenue growth in the December quarter. Most of these sectors also managed to beat the estimated growth in both net profit and revenue for the broader Nifty 200 and Nifty 50 companies. Benefits from the cut in the goods and services tax, improved credit growth, and higher metal prices supported the Nifty 200 companies' earnings for the quarter. 

 

Overall, 12 of the 21 sectors in the Nifty 200 reported better-than-expected growth in both revenue and net profit for the quarter. In contrast, the real estate sector failed to meet the Street's estimate on both counts while the remaining saw a mixed performance. Of the 21 sectors, 14 outperformed both the estimated 8% top line growth and over 2% bottom line growth for Nifty 50 companies, while 12 outperformed the estimated 7% top line growth and the near 10% bottom line growth for the Nifty 200 companies. On the flip side, two sectors--power and automobile--underperformed the estimated growth on both counts and the remaining showed a mixed performance.

 
In terms of reported growth in both the key metrics, nine of the 21 sectors outperformed the Nifty 200 companies, while four underperformed and the remaining showed a mixed performance. The aggregate net profit of the Nifty 200 companies, excluding exceptional items and labour code implementation costs, rose over 16% on year in the reporting quarter, marking the highest growth in eight quarters. Including the exceptional items and labour code impact, the cumulative net profit was up only 5%. The cumulative top line of these companies grew a little over 10% in the quarter, the highest in three quarters.  

The adjusted net profit of the 186 companies in the index, for which estimates were available, grew 16% on year, compared to the near 10% growth estimated by an Informist Poll. The cumulative net sales of the 186 companies grew nearly 10% on year, better than the expected over 7% rise.  

Companies in 11 sectors of the Nifty 200 outperformed the cumulative net profit and revenue growth of top 50 companies for the December quarter, while companies in two sectors underperformed on both counts and the rest showed a mixed performance. Both the aggregate adjusted bottom line and top line of Nifty 50 companies grew just over 9% in the quarter under review. Including the exceptional items and labour code impact on costs, the aggregate bottom line of the top 50 companies fell over 1%. 

The adjusted net profit of the 47 companies in the Nifty 50 index, for which estimates were available, grew 9% on year, better than the expected over 2% rise as per an Informist Poll. The cumulative top line of the 47 companies also grew around 9%, a tad above the 8% growth estimated. 

While companies in all sectors within the Nifty 200 managed to report an on-year rise in their aggregate top line for the December quarter, the cumulative adjusted bottom line of companies in the power, automobile, chemicals, and cement sectors declined. Companies in these four sectors together contributed 12% of the Nifty 200 companies' cumulative adjusted net profit and 17% of their sales. During the quarter, six of the top 200 companies reported a loss compared to five in the year-ago quarter.

Within the Nifty 200 universe, companies in six sectors--financial services excluding banks, metals and mining, pharma and healthcare, defence, auto ancillary, and jewellery--were the top performers in the December quarter. These companies managed to outperform the estimates for their own net profit and revenue growth as well as that for the Nifty 50 and Nifty 200 companies. Together, these sectors contributed over 28% of the Nifty 200 companies' top line and 27% of bottom line for the quarter under review. 

 

FRONT RUNNERS
Financial services companies, excluding banks, saw a major rebound in their cumulative top line growth for the quarter, rising nearly 19% on year compared to the 9% growth in the previous quarter and the near 4% rise in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Their adjusted net profit for the quarter also jumped 19%, compared to the near 17% rise in the trailing quarter as well as the year-ago quarter. The sector contributed nearly 13% of the Nifty 200 companies' cumulative top line and around 14% of their adjusted bottom line for the quarter.  

The two jewellery companies that are part of the Nifty 200 shone brighter in the December quarter, outpacing all other sectors as well as the broader Nifty 200 pack, both in terms of net profit and revenue growth. The aggregate adjusted bottom line of the two companies jumped 71% on year, while revenue rose 41%.  

The metals and mining sector was another front runner. Companies in this sector reported an aggregate adjusted bottom line growth of over 52% on year, the most in five quarters and better than the estimated 36% growth. This was mainly on the back of a multi-fold jump in the adjusted net profits of steelmakers--JSW Steel Ltd., Tata Steel Ltd., and Steel Authority of India Ltd. Excluding these three, the sector's aggregate adjusted bottom line would have risen only 26%. The aggregate top line of metals and mining companies rose 13% on year, its fastest pace in 14 quarters, supported by higher commodity prices. This was also better than the 10% growth estimated.  

The five auto ancillary companies that are part of the Nifty 200 reported strong earnings for the December quarter, supported by higher demand for automobiles on the back of the festive season and the recent cuts in goods and services tax rates. The aggregate top line of these five companies rose 13% on year, slightly above the 12% growth estimated. This was also better than the near 8% on-year growth in the aggregate top line of the five companies reported in the trailing as well as the year-ago quarter.  

The cumulative bottom line of the five auto ancillary companies grew nearly 30% on year in the December quarter, recovering from the slight decline it saw in the trailing quarter. Adjusted for exceptional items and labour code implementation cost, the cumulative bottom line of these companies grew nearly 36%, marking the highest growth in five quarters. 

The six defence companies in the Nifty 200 managed to beat the Street's view on both the top metrics, but their cumulative top line growth slowed both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis. The aggregate adjusted bottom line of these six companies rose 19% on year, but the growth was the slowest in three consecutive December quarters. Similarly, the 15 pharmaceuticals and healthcare companies within the Nifty 200 also reported better-than-expected growth in both net profit and revenue for the December quarter, but the growth in both the metrics slowed compared to the trailing quarter.

The nine oil and gas companies, which contributed 26% and 27% of the Nifty 200 companies' cumulative top line and bottom line for the quarter, respectively, reported a 35% on-year rise in their aggregate adjusted bottom line for the quarter. This was mainly on the back of strong earnings growth of oil marketing companies such as Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., which partially offset the decline in the bottom line of Oil India Ltd. During the quarter under review, oil marketing companies benefitted from weaker crude oil price and strong gross refining margins. The aggregate top line of the nine companies grew around 6% as compared to a slight decline expected by the Street.  
 
LAGGARDS
Cement companies' earnings for the quarter were impacted by lower realisations and higher power and fuel costs, which limited the gains from higher sales volume. The aggregate adjusted bottom line of the four cement companies fell 43% on year against the expectation of a 26% on-year fall. This was mainly on the back of a 91% and 50% on-year fall in the bottom line of Ambuja Cement Ltd. and ACC Ltd., respectively, which together made up 22% of the sector's bottom line for the quarter.   

 

For the automobile sector, the near 13?ll in cumulative adjusted net profit was single-handedly driven by Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., which stayed in the red in the December quarter. Excluding Tata Motors PV, the aggregate adjusted net profit of the nine auto companies jumped 27% on year, marking the highest rise in six quarters. However, this was still lower than the expectation of a 30% net profit growth for the nine companies barring Tata Motors PV.  

During the quarter, earnings of Tata Motors PV came under pressure from the lingering impact of a cyberattack at the plant of its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover in August. JLR's wholesale sales volumes during the December quarter fell 43% on year to 59,100 units and its retail sales declined 25% on year to 79,800. Apart from this, most automobile original equipment makers saw higher sales volume during the quarter supported by a GST rate-cut-led spurt in demand.  

The 14 power companies in the Nifty 200 registered an over 16% on-year rise in their aggregate net profit for the quarter. This was primarily because of Adani Enterprises Ltd., which reported a sharp on-year rise in its net profit for the December quarter, but only due to the one-time income of INR 56.32 billion from the sale of its stake in AWL Agri Business Ltd., formerly known as Adani Wilmar Ltd. Excluding this one-time income, Adani Enterprises made a net loss of INR 50.7 million for the quarter. Adjusted for exceptional items and labour code impact, the cumulative net profit of the 14 power companies fell nearly 6%.

 

MIXED PERFORMANCE

Capital goods companies fared well in the December quarter with strong overall revenues and robust order inflows. The aggregate top line of the 17 capital goods companies grew 15% on year, better than the 13% growth reported in the trailing quarter. This was, however, below the near 19% growth reported in the corresponding quarter a year ago and the 18% growth in the top line estimated by an Informist Poll. 

The cumulative bottom line of the 17 capital goods companies jumped nearly 39% on year, better than the 31% growth estimated by the Street. This was mainly on the back of an over two-fold jump in both the top line and bottom line of Waaree Energies primarily because of robust growth in solar photovoltaic module sales and growth in the engineering, procurement, and construction segment. If one were to exclude Waaree Energies, the aggregate top line and bottom line of the remaining 16 companies would have risen only 12% and 30% respectively, both below the Street's view.

Chemical companies reported mixed overall earnings in the December quarter. The aggregate adjusted bottom line of the seven chemical companies in the Nifty 200 fell 2?ter rising for four straight quarters. The cumulative top line of these companies, on the other hand, rose nearly 14%. The aggregate top line of these companies has been rising 13-14% on a year-on-year basis for the past four quarters. 

 

The following table is a snapshot of the sector-wise performance of the Nifty 200 companies, sorted in the order of number of companies per sector, during the December quarter, compared with the same quarter last year and with the Informist Poll:
 

Sector	Number of companies	Oct-Dec net sales	Oct-Dec PAT Adjusted		Number of companies for which estimates were available	Oct-Dec sales as per Informist Poll	Oct-Dec PAT as per Informist Poll
		(% change YoY)	(% change YoY)			(% change YoY)	(% change YoY)
NIFTY 200	200	10.1	16.31		186	7.3	9.8
Financial services, ex-banks	29	18.7	19.1		19	12.7	19.2
Capital goods	17	15.3	38.8		16	17.7	31.3
Banks	16	5.2	12.2		16	3.3	3.3
Pharma and healthcare	15	12.8	18.0		15	10.9	2.7
Power	14	1.4	-5.7		13	3.8	-7.5
Information technology	13	8.6	15.1		13	7.6	7.7
FMCG	13	9.8	14.5		12	9.1	6.4
Automobile	10	3.5	-12.6		10	4.4	-17.2
Oil & Gas	9	5.8	35.3		8	-0.1	27.6
Metal and mining	9	12.6	52.3		9	10.3	35.9
Chemicals	7	13.6	-2.0		7	9.7	-3.9
Services	7	85.7	5.7		7	82.5	1.8
Real estate	6	28.8	7.5		6	36.5	27.8
Defence	6	15.1	19.1		6	13.6	17.1
Retail	5	14.9	26.2		5	16.6	11.5
Auto-ancillary	5	13.1	35.6		5	12.4	26.2
Telecommunications	5	14.1	43.9		5	14.3	47.3
Cement	4	15.0	-43.1		4	14.0	-25.9
Others	4	12.3	15.1		4	9.4	3.0
Consumer durables	4	4.7	24.9		4	7.8	9.3
Jewellery	2	40.6	70.9		2	38.8	59.5

 

Note: Analyst estimates for each index group are derived from estimates for companies that are part of the index.

 

End

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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