The Hindu Business Line : June quarter jingle: A positive bell

The June quarter jingle has begun; a 32.6 per cent increase in topline and 34.3 per cent jump in bottomline of at least 305 companies appear to ring a positive bell. Profit margins for the initial set of results remained unchanged on a year-on-year basis.

Of the results that flowed over the past week, Kirloskar Brothers, NDTV, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Investment Corporation and India Cements attracted attention for stellar performance.

Gateway Distriparks, Shreyas Shipping and Nicholas Piramal were among those that turned in a subdued performance.

IT majors

IT majors TCS, Wipro and Satyam Computer Services put together notched a 47.3 per cent rise in sales and 49 per cent jump in profits.

The current week's results, however, did not stir sentiments the way Infosys rocked the market mood last week. Though the demand environment remains robust, supply side challenges such as retaining talent and contending with a rising wage bill are beginning to emerge.

The big daddy of the energy pack, Reliance Industries unveiled its earnings numbers this week.

Higher volumes in the petrochemicals segment drove top line growth although operating profit margins were dented on higher feedstock prices.

Cement pack

Higher realisations brought about by price hikes and healthy volumes helped cement majors ACC and Gujarat Ambuja Cement clock over 100 per cent surge in post-tax earnings.

Among the cement pack, India Cements stole the show with a manifold jump in bottom line that was aided by a sharp drop in interest expense and surge in operating profit margins.

Companies from the metals space also turned in a buoyant performance.

Hindustan Zinc and Sterlite Industries came up with six-fold jump in post-tax earnings, while domestic steel major Tata Steel's profits inched up by 3 per cent, stemming two consecutive quarters of declines.

In the capital goods space, Thermax led the earnings pack for the week, followed by a more subdued show from Larsen & Toubro and Crompton Greaves.

Financial services

Among financial services, HDFC came up with yet another consistent performance.

While Kotak Mahindra Bank doubled its profits driven by fee-based income, ICICI Bank announced a 17 per cent increase in profits, aided by increased demand for loans.

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