Top 500 cos income rose by 19% on avg in 2009: D&B

The cumulative income of the top 500 companies in the country climbed over 19 per cent to Rs 27,53,800 crore during the the last fiscal, despite the challenging economic situation, according to a survey.

"The total income for the 2009 edition of the top 500 companies grew faster than expected, at 19.7 per cent on an aggregate level, as compared to the 2008 edition," the report by research firm Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) said.

The 500 companies' net profit stood at Rs 2,25,800 crore in 2009.

The 500 entities were categorised as large (110 firms), medium (228) and small (162) companies, based on their respective market capitalisation.

In the list, large-cap companies are those with a market capitalisation of more than Rs 4,601 crore, while mid-cap firms have valuation in the range of Rs 651 crore to Rs 4,601 crore. Small-cap entities have been classified as those having market capitalisation below Rs 651 crore.

As per the report, the market capitalisation of these 500 firms climbed 17.5 per cent to Rs 34,19,000 crore in financial year 2009 as compared to the 2007 fiscal.

"The market capitalisation of the top 500 companies grew by 17.5 per cent from Rs 29,093 billion in FY07 to Rs 34,190 billion in FY09," it noted.

Meanwhile, market valuation of the 500 entities as a percentage of the country's GDP came down to 61.3 per cent in 2009, mainly due to a sharp fall in the Indian stock market.

"The market capitalisation as a per cent of GDP for the 2008 edition of top 500 companies, at 91.8 per cent, was probably the highest in more than a decade, as compared with 67.9 per cent for the 2007 edition of top 500 companies," the report said.