Q2 Earnings Scorecard: Which sectors outperformed and which fell behind?
The September quarter results indicate strong revenue and profit growth in sectors like automobiles and banking. In contrast, sectors such as IT and pharmaceuticals showed weakness amid inflationary pressures. Automobile sector leaders like Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto reported significant growth in sales and exports. L&T's orders surged, while the cement sector faced challenges with fluctuating…
Q2 Earnings Scorecard: Sector Performance Insights
The first half of the financial year has seen strong performances across multiple sectors, with double-digit growth in revenue and net profits. Automobiles, banking, capital goods, and metals emerged as the top performers, while sectors like cement, IT, and pharmaceuticals faced challenges.
Automobiles witnessed robust growth, with Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) posting a 38% year-on-year wholesale volume growth and increasing its market share by over 220 basis points to nearly 41%. Bajaj Auto reported a 41% exports growth, and TVS Motor Company recorded record quarterly exports of 5.4 lakh units. However, MSIL's exports were impacted due to geopolitical issues.
The banking sector reported stable asset quality and stable net interest margins. State Bank of India (SBI) saw an 11 basis point sequential improvement in net interest margin, while HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank experienced slight declines in their margins. Credit growth is expected to remain healthy, with potential recovery in net interest margins in the second half of the fiscal year.
Capital goods companies, including L&T, reported significant growth in revenue and profits. L&T clocked record quarterly orders worth ₹1.5 lakh crore and experienced double-digit revenue and profit growth. However, profitability was under pressure due to material cost inflation, with L&T's operating margin falling 130 basis points to 8.7%.
Cement manufacturers showed mixed results, with Ultratech posting a 13.8% quarterly volume growth and improved blended realisation. However, Ambuja Cement's revenue remained flat, and higher costs of petcoke, diesel, and packaging materials weighed on margins. The outlook suggests a potential recovery in cement prices in the second half of the fiscal year.
In the consumer sector, HUL and ITC reported strong sales growth in their non-cigarette businesses, with ITC's FMCG revenue growing in double digits for the fourth consecutive quarter. ITC's cigarette segment revenue, however, dropped 21% year-on-year due to higher taxes. D Mart's gross margin was under pressure due to its inability to pass on higher input costs amid intense competition.
Information Technology firms, such as Infosys, reported significant wins, including a $2 billion mega deal that brought the quarter's total contract value to $5.2 billion, the highest since the September 2023 quarter. However, Infosys reduced its revenue guidance band for the full year due to increasing competitive intensity. Wipro also reported a decline in new deal TCV for the quarter.
Domestic steel companies, including JSW, reported strong volumes growth, with JSW's like-to-like volume growing by 13% year-on-year. Tata Steel's domestic EBITDA jumped 10% following robust 16% volume growth. However, ferrous companies faced challenges due to lower steel realisations due to lower long steel prices, and JSW Steel's EBITDA margin fell 120 basis points sequentially to 18.6%.
The pharmaceutical sector remained strong, with domestic business contributing significantly to growth. Sun Pharma's performance was not mentioned in the source material.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Top News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
