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Informist, Monday, Jun. 8, 2026

 

By Gopika Balasubramanium

 

MUMBAI – Strong sales growth in sectors such as transport, basic industries, and services drove the aggregate revenue growth of Nifty 500 companies to a 12-quarter high in the March quarter. Growth in cumulative net profit, adjusted for one-time items, remained in double digits for the fifth consecutive quarter. 

 

Only 499 companies were considered for the analysis because Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. was merged with Gujarat Gas Ltd., effective May 1.

 

The aggregate top line for the March quarter of the Nifty 500 companies rose 12% on year to INR 39 trillion. All eight sectors reported year-on-year growth in net sales during in the quarter. Net profit, excluding exceptional items, of the Nifty 500 universe grew slightly faster at 16% on year. In absolute terms, the cumulative net profit was INR 4.81 trillion. Only the transport sector reported a fall in net profit at the sector level.

 

The bottom 300 companies outperformed the top 200 companies. In percentage terms, the adjusted net profit of the bottom 300 companies grew around 20% while that of the Nifty 200 rose a little over 15%. The net sales growth of the top 200 companies was 12%, similar to that reported by the bottom 300 companies.

 

Of the 499 companies, 232 reported profit growth from the corresponding quarter a year ago that exceeded the broader group's aggregate growth of 16%. In terms of sales, 268 companies posted growth exceeding the cumulative growth of 12% recorded by the 499 companies. During the March quarter, 77 companies reported an on-year decline in sales, down from 106 a year ago. Adjusted net profit declined for 137 companies during the quarter, compared with 140 in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, 28 companies reported a loss during the quarter, compared with 30 in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

 

Analysts' estimates were available for only 436 of the Nifty 500 companies. The cumulative net profit of these 436 companies rose around 16% on year in the March quarter, outpacing expectations of 7% growth. Their cumulative net sales grew 12%, slightly below the expected 13%.

 

OUTPERFORMERS

The sectors that exceeded the aggregate growth of the Nifty 500 companies in both adjusted net profit and revenue during the quarter were basic industries, consumer, and services. Among them, the services sector was the standout performer, reporting the highest growth in both metrics.

 

The 40 service companies, which include retailers, posted adjusted net profit growth of around 38% on year, the highest in nine quarters. This was more than twice the Nifty 500's cumulative net profit growth of nearly 16%. Aggregate net sales of these 40 companies rose 29% on year, the sharpest increase in 15 quarters. The sector reported a substantial rise in cumulative net profit despite overall expenses growing at a similar rate of 29%. Services sector heavyweight Eternal posted a threefold increase in sales from a year ago, contributing significantly to the sector's overall sales growth. Excluding Eternal, the sector's sales growth would have narrowed to around 19%. 

 

The second-best performer at the sector level was basic industries, with 108 companies reporting aggregate adjusted net profit growth of 33%. This was the strongest performance by basic industries companies in the fourth quarter of a financial year in five years. A 62% rise in net profit among metal companies, which accounted for half of the sector's profit, drove the performance. Better realisations and strong volume growth helped these companies deliver robust results during the quarter. Excluding metal companies, the remaining 86 basic industries players posted an increase of only 13% in adjusted net profit. Aggregate net sales of these 108 companies grew more than 16% from a year ago.

 

The 49 consumer companies in the Nifty 500 universe reported growth of more than 19% in adjusted net profit during the March quarter. The subdued performance by market leaders ITC Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd., whose profits grew by only around 5-7% on year, was offset by 20-40% profit growth at Nestle India Ltd., Tata Consumer Products Ltd., and Titan Co. Ltd. These three companies accounted for 13% of the sector's overall profit. Aggregate sales of 49 consumer companies grew 17% on year, the highest growth rate in four quarters. The strong performance was driven by improved demand and substantial volume growth across segments, ranging from gold to consumer discretionary products. 

 

UNDERPERFORMERS

The sectoral laggards in the March quarter were pharmaceuticals and transport. While transport sector companies posted a decline in net profit, pharmaceutical companies reported only single-digit profit growth. Both sectors underperformed the overall Nifty 500 profit growth by a wide margin.

 

Transport companies, which include automobile, automotive ancillary, shipping, ports, and aviation firms, posted a year-on-year decline of over 1% in net profit. The sector's underperformance was largely due to InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s net loss for the quarter. Excluding the airline operator, the sector's adjusted net profit growth was 16.5% on year, marginally higher than the 16% growth reported by the Nifty 500 universe. Net sales of these 44 companies rose more than 16%, outperforming the 12% growth recorded by the broader group.

 

The 82 companies classified under pharmaceuticals, health care, and chemicals reported cumulative net profit growth of nearly 6% from a year ago, sharply lower than the 16% rise recorded by the Nifty 500 universe. The sharp slowdown in the sector's performance was driven by substantial declines in adjusted net profit across 29 companies during the quarter. A 15% year-on-year increase in overall expenses also weighed on profitability. Net sales of these 82 companies grew 13.5% from a year ago.

 

The following table gives a snapshot of the sector-wise performance of the Nifty 500 companies for the March quarter:

 

Sector	Number of companies	Adjusted PAT		Net Sales		Total Expenses
		YoY (%)	QoQ (%)	YoY (%)	QoQ  (%)	YoY (%)	QoQ (%)
Nifty 500	499	15.80	12.94	12.11	8.59	10.29	5.51
Nifty 200	200	15.19	12.75	12.16	8.86	10.77	6.13
IT, media, telecom	42	14.14	9.43	11.34	3.26	9.04	2.57
Basic industries	108	32.83	33.59	16.36	16.83	14.36	14.46
Financial services	95	14.52	10.05	10.05	9.13	2.37	-5.14
Energy	39	15.41	15.55	6.80	5.86	6.71	7.00
Consumer	49	19.29	1.54	16.73	5.58	17.25	5.61
Transport	44	-1.14	14.83	16.45	13.35	18.62	12.49
Services	40	37.75	-8.08	29.21	1.18	29.02	2.01
Pharma & chemicals	82	5.62	-5.00	13.48	3.30	14.94	4.35

 

Data compiled by Vinod Bhovad

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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