The Qualities Of Being Super

Banks and NBFCs that kept a Check on Credit quality have prevailed, while there has Been an exodus oF it Firms From the super 50 Companies list

- Dinesh Arora

Forbes India’s list of Super 50 companies has become the benchmark to identify Indian companies that exhibit high growth in profitability, sales and shareholder returns. In the universe of private listed companies with market capitalisation exceeding ₹10,000 crore, the ones that have consistently delivered on these three parameters over the last three years have found a place in the third edition of India’s Super 50 Companies.

The past year has been an eventful one, for India and the world. Major economic and geopolitical events at home—demonetisation and the surgical strikes, for instance— and external events like the US presidential elections and the Brexit referendum had a bearing on the domestic economy in general and corporate India in particular. This year’s Super 50 companies are the ones that adjusted the sails, with the right business strategies, to tide over these storms.

Like last year, companies in the financial services, consumer products, auto, pharma and chemicals sectors dominate the list. Roughly a quarter of the 50 companies— nine NBFCs, including six Super 50 debutants, and three banks— are financial services entities.

In recent years, this sector has been plagued by the deteriorating asset quality of banks—an aftermath of the rampant credit growth witnessed between 2009 and 2012, when Indian corporates went on a massive debtfed investment spree. The banking system suffered from its own karma as dud loans piled up, impacting the overall health of the sector.