Electoral bond data: Smaller companies donated larger share of profit

Smaller listed companies donated a larger share of their net profits through electoral bonds than their bigger peers.

The top 10 most valuable companies donated the equivalent of 0.2 per cent of their total profits over the preceding four years. It was 14.8 per cent for the bottom 10 least-valuable companies (chart 1). The analysis is based on 95 listed companies with available data from the electoral bonds information released by the Election Commission following a Supreme Court directive. The numbers, while not exhaustive, can be indicative of the broader trend among large companies.

The top 10 companies by market capitalisation (mcap) contributed over Rs 362 crore. They had profits of Rs 1.7 trillion over the past four years. The bottom 10 companies by mcap contributed Rs 125 crore. They had a profit of Rs 844.5 crore over the preceding four years.

A number of companies donated more money than they earned in profits over the preceding four years. There were 10 companies in which the cumulative contribution was higher than the net profit earned over the last four years for which financial data is available. They cumulatively contributed over Rs 240 crore through electoral bonds.

The contribution was also high relative to the net profit in the case of some companies. At least four companies paid the equivalent of 5 per cent of their profits or more earned over the preceding five years. It was double-digit in the case of two companies, going in excess of 52 per cent in the case of one.

The bottom half of the companies in terms of mcap had twice the share of entities who donated more than profits over the preceding four years. It was around 6 per cent of firms in the top half, while the figure was around 15 per cent for the bottom half.