Margins under pressure

Q3 corporate results indicate expenses outpacing revenue

The 0.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in the adjusted net profit of 385 companies, which have released their results for the third quarter (Q3) of the current financial year so far, does not inspire much confidence. If financials and energy companies are removed from the sample, net profit has grown 6.4 per cent in Q3 — the worst performance in five quarters. For the entire universe, growth in other income, which has often aided net profit growth in the past, is lower than revenue growth. Companies, however, have reported strong double digit growth in top line, thanks to higher