Corporate earnings fall in Q2, a first in two yrs

Net sales growth weakest in a year, too; BFSI sector emerges an outlier

- KRISHNA KANT

India Inc continued to grapple with muted revenue growth in the September 2024 quarter (Q2FY25) and witnessed a decline in margins and profits. The headwinds were especially severe for non-financial companies, while banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) firms significantly outpaced the rest of the corporate sector.

The total profit of 1,353 listed companies that have released their Q2FY25 results thus far dropped by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) - the first cumulative earnings decline in eight quarters. For comparison, these firms posted a robust 47.4 per cent Y-o-Y increase in net profit in Q2FY24 and a smaller but positive 1.6 per cent Y-o-Y rise in Q1FY25.

The overall corporate profit of companies in Business Standard's sample slipped to approximately ₹2.88 trillion in Q2FY25 from ₹2.90 trillion in Q2FY24 and ₹3.02 trillion in the first quarter of FY25. Corporate net sales for the July-September period rose by 6.5 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹30 trillion in Q2FY25 from ₹28.2 trillion in Q2FY24, albeit this represents the slowest growth pace in the last four quarters.