Equity investors remain bullish on metal and mining stocks, shows data

There has been a sharp contraction in the earnings of metal and mining companies in the past two quarters, but equity investors continue to bid for the share price of companies in the sector, expecting a quick turnaround in their earnings trajectory in the next few quarters. This has driven a wedge between companies’ earnings and their market capitalisation (m-cap).

The combined net profit of listed metal and mining companies, such as Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Vedanta, Hindalco Industries, and Coal India, is down 55.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the October-December quarter (third quarter, or Q3) of 2022-23 (FY23),