Metal firms yet to deliver on hope

Though buoyant on bourses, their earnings, sales have lagged overall listed universe in past 2 yrs

- KRISHNA KANT

Metal and mining companies, including Tata Steel, Hindalco, Vedanta, Hindustan Zinc, and Coal India, have emerged as leading performers on the stock exchanges over the past year.

The BSE Metal index has surged by approximately 61 per cent during this period, outpacing the 16 per cent rally in the BSE Sensex.

This rally in metal and mining stocks, however, is driven more by future expectations than by accelerated earnings growth in recent quarters.

The combined net profit of these companies excluding Tata Steel, which is yet to announce its Q4FY24 results remained flat on a year-onyear (Y-o-Y) basis in the March quarter, while their net sales declined by 1.3 per cent in the same quarter, marking their worst performance in the past 15 quarters.

Metal and mining companies have outperformed their corporate peers on the stock exchanges during most of the post-Covid period but have underperformed them in terms of financial performance.