Early birds hint at subdued earnings growth in December quarter

Net profit up 10.4% YoY, growing at slowest pace in five quarters

Corporate earnings in the December 2021 quarter (Q3FY22) have started on a muted note for India Inc with lower than expected growth shown by early-bird companies. The combined net profit of 140 early-bird companies is up 10.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) during October-December 2021, growing at its slowest pace in the last five quarters.

For comparison, these companies’ earnings were up 19.7 per cent y-o-y in Q2FY22 and 21.6 per cent during the third quarter of FY21. Early-bird companies reported net profits of around Rs 43,500 crore in Q3FY22, up from Rs 40,565 crore in Q2FY22.

On the top line side, their