Corporate results for the September quarter were the weakest in the last fifteen years

Mumbai, Ta. 18 November 2019, Monday

Apart from finance and oil and gas, India's listed companies have jointly netted for the first time in the last fifteen years. Net sales of companies declined for the first time in the last four years in the September quarter.

Because of the impact of the September quarter loss by mobile operating companies, these companies have jointly made a net loss. Sales have been declining as demand for home declines.

The research conducted by one research firm also indicated that the earnings of these companies would decline in the coming quarters. India's listed companies, excluding finance and oil and gas, have reported a net loss of Rs 5 crore in the July-September period of the current fiscal. These companies had a net profit of Rs 1 crore in the same period last year.

This is the first time that companies other than the energy and financial sector have made net losses on a joint basis. Their pre-trade profits also fell by 5 per cent to Rs 5 crore annually. In the second quarter of the last financial year, these companies made a profit of Rs 5.5 trillion before tax.

The cumulative sales figures were also down 5.7 percent, the worst in the last four years, the report said. Net sales of companies increased by 5.5 per cent in the second quarter of the last financial year and the growth in the April-June period of the current financial year was 8.5 per cent.

Excluding telecoms, Indian companies' pre-tax combined profit was down 8.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 1.8 trillion, indicating an economic slowdown. The net profit of non-telecom companies was 5.9 per cent higher at Rs 5 crore, due to a change in tax.

Listed mobile operator companies like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea reported a net loss of Rs 1.8 trillion in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of Rs 5 crore in the same period last year. For the last three quarters, the mobile telecom industry has been making losses.