Q2 earnings: Corporate profits decline, a first in nine quarters

The combined net profit of 2,725 listed companies across all sectors was down 6.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q2 -the first contraction after eight consecutive quarters of YoY growth

The post-Covid boom in corporate earnings, as expected, seems to have ended, at least for now, as companies saw margins and profits shrink in the July-September quarter (Q2) of FY23, or 2022-23.

Notably, this is the first decline in India Inc’s quarterly earnings since the April-June 2020 quarter, which was impacted due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

The Q2 earnings were adversely affected by the higher cost of raw materials and energy, besides a reversal in the interest rate cycle, resulting in a higher interest expense for companies in the non-financial sectors. India Inc’s revenues, however, continued to grow in