Non-financial services sector PAT to grow 15% in FY10: CMIE

Profit-after tax (PAT) growth of the non-financial services sector is likely to see an improvement and is expected to clock around 14.9 per cent in the current fiscal on account of an accelerated sales growth, an economic think-tank said in its latest report.

"We expect the PAT growth of the non-financial services sector for the year 2009-10 to be 14.9 per cent," Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its report on the state of the Indian economy.        

PAT growth is expected to improve in tandem with sales growth which would average at 10.1 per cent, it said.        

According to CMIE, starting from 8.3 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, the growth would accelerate to 20.7 per cent in the December 2009 quarter. 

However, the report forecast a slightly slower growth in Q4 of the current fiscal at 17.4 per cent on account of the high base last year.        

The PAT margin at 12.2 per cent during the quarter would, however, be higher than those in the preceding three quarters, the report said.  

On the sales side, the CMIE said, in June 2009 quarter, sales would grow by three per cent and in September quarter by 5.9 per cent.        

"This growth will still be weaker than the close to 30 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter of FY 09," the report said.        

"Fortunes of most of the non-financial services sector such as software, hotels, shipping and aviation are closely linked to the global economic conditions," the report said.        

These sectors are expected to report a pick-up in sales growth in the second half of 2009-10 following the expected revival in the global economy.