In the second quarter of India's fiscal year, ten major companies offered a mosaic of fortunes — some clawing back from deep losses, others absorbing the quiet erosion of inflation — reflecting an economy neither in crisis nor in confident recovery, but in the slow, unglamorous work of adjustment. Tata Motors sold more cars yet remained unprofitable; Lupin returned to the black through discipline rather than growth; and Coal India bet heavily on infrastructure while the government quietly reshaped its own financial holdings. Taken together, these results speak less to any single trend than to
Major Indian firms report mixed Q2 earnings; Tata Motors narrows losses, Lupin swings to profit
Lupin swung from a ₹2,098 crore loss to ₹130 crore profit on nearly flat revenue.
Mark
What strikes you most about these results? They seem scattered—some companies improving, others struggling.
Mimi
That scattering is the real story. Lupin's swing from a ₹2,098 crore loss to ₹130 crore profit is dramatic, but it happened on almost flat revenue. That tells you the turnaround was about getting costs under control, not selling more.
Luke
But we should be careful there. A ₹130 crore profit on ₹4,145 crore revenue is a thin margin. We don't know if that's sustainable or if it's a one-quarter bounce.
Mimi
Fair point. What's clearer is Tata Motors—they're selling much more, revenue up nearly 30%, but still losing money. That's a company in the middle of something.
Mark
Is that a problem?
Mimi
Not necessarily. They're narrowing losses quarter by quarter. But it shows the auto sector is under pressure even when demand is there.
Luke
The capex numbers are interesting too. Coal India spending 33% more on infrastructure, Adani Ports making a billion-rupee acquisition. That's not defensive behavior.
Mark
What does that signal?
Mimi
Confidence. These are big, state-linked companies betting on future demand. Coal India is building out evacuation capacity—they're expecting to move more coal.
Luke
Though we should note: we don't have Coal India's actual profit numbers from this quarter. We only have the capex story. That's incomplete.
Mark
And the government selling Axis Bank shares—what's that about?
Mimi
Divestment. The government needs cash, and Axis Bank is a valuable holding. Four thousand crores is real money.
Luke
But it's also a signal. If the government is selling, what does that say about its confidence in the stock?
Mimi
It could mean nothing beyond fiscal need. Or it could mean they think the price is right now. We can't know without more context.
Mark
So the quarter is mixed because the economy is mixed.
Mimi
Exactly. Some sectors are adjusting to inflation and finding their footing. Others are still in the red. And the big players are still investing, which suggests they see runway ahead.
The Pulse
- Tata Motors narrowed its net loss dramatically — from over ₹4,400 crore to under ₹945 crore — even as revenue surged nearly 30%, signaling a company selling hard while still bleeding.
- Lupin's swing from a ₹2,098 crore loss to a ₹130 crore profit in a single year stands as the quarter's sharpest turnaround, achieved through cost discipline rather than revenue explosion.
- Pidilite and Piramal felt the weight of raw material inflation and inventory costs, with Piramal's losses widening to ₹1,536 crore even as its retail lending business surged eightfold year-on-year.
- Coal India accelerated its infrastructure ambitions with a 33% capex increase, while Adani Ports moved aggressively into liquid storage by acquiring a near-majority stake in Indian Oiltanking for ₹1,050 crore.
- The government signaled portfolio rebalancing — planning to offload a 1.55% Axis Bank stake for roughly ₹4,000 crore, while LIC quietly crossed the 5% threshold in Divis Laboratories.
In the second quarter of India's fiscal year, ten major companies offered a mosaic of fortunes — some clawing back from deep losses, others absorbing the quiet erosion of inflation — reflecting an economy neither in crisis nor in confident recovery, but in the slow, unglamorous work of adjustment. Tata Motors sold more cars yet remained unprofitable; Lupin returned to the black through discipline rather than growth; and Coal India bet heavily on infrastructure while the government quietly reshaped its own financial holdings. Taken together, these results speak less to any single trend than to the uneven, sector-by-sector nature of economic recalibration.
On a Wednesday in early November, ten major Indian companies reported their September quarter earnings, and the results refused to tell a single story. Some narrowed losses, some swung to profit, and others found margins squeezed by costs that revenue growth could not outrun.
Tata Motors, India's largest automaker, posted a consolidated net loss of ₹944.61 crore — a sharp improvement from the ₹4,441 crore loss a year earlier and an even steeper recovery from the preceding quarter. Revenue jumped 29.7% to nearly ₹79,611 crore, painting the picture of a company pushing volume while still working its way back to profitability. Lupin offered the quarter's most striking reversal: the Mumbai-based drugmaker returned to a ₹130 crore profit after a ₹2,098 crore loss in the same period last year, with revenue barely moving — suggesting the turnaround came from operational discipline rather than demand.
Not every company fared as well. Pidilite Industries saw net profit fall 10% to ₹337.75 crore, weighed down by raw material inflation and costly inventory. Piramal Enterprises widened its net loss to ₹1,536 crore from ₹395 crore, though its retail lending disbursements surged eightfold year-on-year, and its equity base of ₹27,472 crore suggested the losses were transitional. Bayer CropScience and NDTV both posted modest profit growth, offering quieter notes of stability.
Beyond earnings, the quarter carried significant corporate movement. Coal India raised capital expenditure 33% to ₹7,017 crore in the first half of the fiscal year, directing more than a third toward coal evacuation infrastructure. Adani Ports acquired a 49.38% stake in Indian Oiltanking for ₹1,050 crore, expanding its footprint in liquid storage. On the divestment front, the government announced plans to sell a 1.55% stake in Axis Bank through an offer for sale, expecting to raise around ₹4,000 crore, while LIC crossed the 5% holding threshold in Divis Laboratories after a modest additional purchase.
The quarter's collective portrait was one of grinding adjustment — an economy absorbing higher input costs, reshaping portfolios, and finding recovery in some corners while contending with pressure in others, without offering the clarity of either a sharp rebound or a definitive downturn.
On a Wednesday in early November, ten major Indian companies stepped into the earnings spotlight, each telling a different story about how their businesses weathered the second quarter of the fiscal year. The results painted no single picture—some companies narrowed their losses, others swung from red to black, and a few found themselves struggling against inflation and inventory costs.
Tata Motors, the country's largest automaker, reported a consolidated net loss of ₹944.61 crore for the quarter ending September. The figure marked a sharp improvement from the ₹4,441.57 crore loss posted in the same quarter a year earlier, and a dramatic recovery from the ₹5,006.60 crore loss in the immediately preceding quarter. What made the loss more digestible was the company's revenue performance: consolidated sales jumped 29.7% to ₹79,611.37 crore, up from ₹61,378.82 crore in the prior year. The auto major was selling more, even as it remained unprofitable—a sign of a company in transition, pushing volume while managing costs.
In the pharmaceutical sector, Lupin delivered a turnaround that stood in sharp contrast to its recent past. The Mumbai-based drug maker reported a consolidated net profit of ₹130 crore for the September quarter, a stunning reversal from the ₹2,098 crore net loss it had posted in the same period the previous year. Revenue from operations edged up modestly to ₹4,145 crore from ₹4,091 crore, suggesting that profitability had returned not through explosive growth but through operational discipline and cost management.
Other companies showed more muted movements. Pidilite Industries, which makes adhesives, sealants, and construction chemicals, saw consolidated net profit decline 10.06% to ₹337.75 crore, a casualty of raw material inflation and the burden of high-priced inventory carried from earlier in the year. Bayer CropScience moved in the opposite direction, posting a 5.51% increase in net profit to ₹162.6 crore, while total income rose to ₹1,451.9 crore. NDTV, the media company, reported a 4.4% increase in consolidated net profit to ₹13.03 crore, with total income climbing 9.87% to ₹107.66 crore.
Piramal Enterprises reported a widening net loss of ₹1,536 crore, compared to ₹395 crore a year earlier, but the company highlighted bright spots within the damage: its retail business grew 62% quarter-on-quarter, and disbursements in the retail lending segment surged 8x year-on-year to ₹3,973 crore. The company maintained a strong balance sheet with equity of ₹27,472 crore, suggesting the losses were temporary rather than structural.
Beyond earnings, the quarter saw significant corporate moves. Coal India, the state-owned mining giant, announced a 33% increase in capital expenditure to ₹7,017 crore during the first half of the fiscal year, up from ₹5,300 crore in the prior year's corresponding period. Coal evacuation infrastructure—specifically coal handling plants and railway lines—consumed ₹2,547 crore, or 36% of the company's total capex. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone acquired a 49.38% stake in Indian Oiltanking Ltd, a developer and operator of liquid storage facilities, for ₹1,050 crore, alongside a 10% equity stake in IOT Utkal Energy Services Ltd.
On the divestment front, the government moved to reduce its holding in Axis Bank. The Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India announced plans to sell up to 1.55% of the bank, or 4.65 crore shares, through an offer for sale on November 10 and 11 at a floor price of ₹830.63 per share. At prevailing market rates, the government expected to raise approximately ₹4,000 crore from the transaction. Meanwhile, the Life Insurance Corporation of India crossed the 5% shareholding threshold in Divis Laboratories after purchasing additional shares for ₹35.82 crore, raising its stake from 4.992% to 5.032%.
The earnings season revealed an economy in flux—some sectors finding their footing after losses, others contending with cost pressures that eroded margins despite revenue growth, and large institutional investors reshaping their portfolios. The quarter suggested neither a sharp recovery nor a sustained downturn, but rather a grinding adjustment to higher input costs and shifting demand patterns.
Notable Quotes
Pidilite Industries' consolidated net profit declined 10.06% to ₹337.75 crore, attributed to raw material inflation and high-priced inventory— Pidilite Industries regulatory filing
Piramal Enterprises' retail business grew 62% quarter-on-quarter with 8x year-on-year growth in disbursements to ₹3,973 crore— Piramal Enterprises statement
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