It Sector Tops With 64% Net Rise
Backed by excellent second half performance, aggregate net profits of 425 companies were up 23.6 per cent in the year ended March 2000 at Rs 16,571 crore. Sales during the period increased by 16.2 per cent to Rs 1,54,826 crore.
On the sectoral front, information technology companies have superseded others in terms of growth in sales and net profit. The 30 information technology firms in the list managed to increase their sales by 63.7 per cent to Rs 7,201 crore, while net profit was up 108 per cent at Rs 1,180 crore. Internet and e-commerce businesses, and a strong export market helped the sector in bettering figures.
The petrochemicals segment was at the second slot with a 39.6 per cent growth in sales at Rs 20,849 crore and a 41.2 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 2,426 crore. Reliance Industries was the main contributor to the sector's growth. The company managed a 39.5 per cent growth in sales, while net profit was up 41 per cent.
In the automobile segment, only two companies' figures were available. They managed a 25.4 per cent growth in sales at Rs 4,219 crore, while net profit increased by 62 per cent to Rs 166 crore. Strong commercial vehicle sales during the second half of the fiscal aided the sector's performance.
The entertainment segment also put on a good show with a sales growth of 23.7 per cent at Rs 564 crore, while net profit was up 138 per cent at Rs 181 crore. The aggregate net profit of the telecommunication sector spurted 16.4 per cent in the fiscal, while sales increased only by six per cent. Lower operating expenses by VSNL and lower provision for taxation by MTNL propped the segment's net profit.
In the pharmaceutical sector, strong fundamentals aided the topline and bottomline growth of 23 pharmaceutical companies. Sales grew by 19.3 per cent, while net profit was up 39.2 per cent.
In the steel sector, 11 companies which have declared their yearly results so far, reported a 13.1 per cent growth in sales, while net profit was up 98.2 per cent. Public sector Steel Authority of India is yet to announce its results.
Operating level margins of the 425 companies were lower at 23.1 per cent against 23.3 per cent in the previous year. Gross profit margin climbed to 18.4 per cent (18.1 per cent), while net profit margin was up 10.7 per cent (10.1 per cent). The excellent sales income growth of the companies was offset by higher operating expenses. Other income was down 0.4 per cent at Rs 4,230 crore.