D&B India launches 10th edition of India's Top 500 Companies 2009

Dun & Bradstreet India is pleased to present the 2009 edition of its premium publication ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’. This issue marks another successful milestone in providing a ready reference tool on India Inc’s top companies and comprises valuable insights on the operations of these companies and on the different sectors.

About Dun & Bradstreet’s India’s Top 500 Companies 2009

The 2009 edition continues the customary approach of profiling ‘India’s Top 500 Companies’. Companies are ranked on the basis of various criteria including total income, net profit, net worth and others. The edition also includes a financial comparison of companies classified under different sectors along with the Insights section based on in-depth analysis of the financial data pertaining to these companies. There is also an additional section on the quarterly performances of companies during the first three quarters of FY10 followed by the Outlook.

FY09 will be most remembered for the resilient performance of India Inc even as it faced subdued demand in the domestic and international market. The pace of India’s GDP slowed down to 6.7% during FY09 from 9.0% in FY08. Besides, volatile oil prices, huge foreign fund outflows, manufacturing slowdown, passive export demand, spiralling inflation rates, unstable liquidity conditions and the consequent uncertainty clouding the expansion plans of Indian companies were the other noteworthy developments that took place during the year.

However, the scenario brightened in FY10 with the GDP registering a growth of 6.1% (y-o-y) during the first quarter of FY10 as compared with 5.76% (y-o-y) during the fourth quarter of FY09. Improvement in industrial activity coupled with the various economic stimuli packages of the government seemed to have borne a positive result on the economy as it clocked a strong growth in GDP in the second quarter of FY10, thus sending early signs of economic revival.

Key insights from the study:

• Topline grows but  net profits falter        
• India Inc. absorbs more debt to survive the downturn during FY09        
• Private sector companies stuck with high debt burden; foreign players enjoy highest NPM and RONW        
• 42 new entrants stage debut with iron & steel and construction – infrastructure development sectors in the lead        
• Domestic consumption-based sectors stand strong        
• Exports register respectable growth in spite of slowdown         
• Dip in profitability leads to decline in dividend payout        
• PSUs outshine their peers in total income growth and dividend payments