Retail lenders, RIL help India Inc's combined net profit rise 8.6% in Q2

Mid- and small-cap companies seem to have done better than top-tier companies

Boosted by a better show by retail lenders, Reliance Industries (RIL), metal companies, and consumer goods makers, the second quarter (Q2) earnings season has started on a positive note for India Inc.

The combined net profit of 228 companies that have declared their results for the July-September 2017 quarter so far was up 8.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY), against 1.3 per cent growth during the first quarter (Q1) of the current financial year (FY18) and 7.9 per cent YoY growth during the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The sample includes 23 Nifty50 Index companies, and their combined net profit was