Growth moderation

Lower commodity prices can help protect margins

Corporate results for the April-June quarter of 2023-24 (Q1FY24) suggest a moderation in revenue and profit growth. Corporate revenues and profits have tapered off compared to the previous quarter (Q4FY23), though there has been impressive year-on-year (Y-o-Y ) growth. Most of the profit growth is contributed by banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and refineries. There has been a sharp moderation in crude oil and gas prices compared to a year ago, when fears of supply disruption due to the Ukraine war had led to a spike. Lower energy prices boosted profits for refiners. Refineries have doubled profits on a Y-o-Y