Corporate India continues to shine, with over 50 per cent growth in its net profit for the second year in a row. A total of 1325 companies, which have declared their full- year results for 2004-05, posted 54. 81per cent growth in net profit.
In 2003-04, the growth was 59. 1 per cent.
The growth in 2004-05 profit has been driven by a solid 25. 64 per cent rise in net sales income. The profit margins -- operating, gross and net -- grew by over 100 basis points each.
While operating margins went up from 16. 43 per cent in 2003-04 to 17. 45 per cent in 2004-05, gross profit margins moved up from 13. 67 per cent to 15. 34 per cent and net margins up from 7. 11 per cent to 8. 79 per cent in the corresponding period.
Of the 112 sectors studied, as many as 42 posted over 25 per cent sales growth compared with the previous year and only eight reported a marginal declines in sales volumes. Net profit doubled in 24 sectors but declined in 22 others.
The housing construction sector was the star performer with a whopping 938 per cent rise in net profit, the others being picture tubes (860. 4 per cent), office equipment (705. 2 per cent), sponge and pig iron (589. 3 per cent) and sugar (573. 8 per cent).
Among the major industries, net profit grew 152. 2 per cent in the composite and alloy steel sector, 107. 2 per cent in shipping and 69. 5 per cent in the cold rolled steel sector.
Aluminium companies reported a 57. 3 per cent surge in net profit, followed by electrical equipment (52. 4 per cent), commercial vehicles (50. 2 per cent), telecommunications (37. 5 per cent) and information technology (35. 8 per cent).
The two-wheeler and pharmaceutical industries recorded single-digit growth in net profit at 8. 2 per cent and 4. 5 per cent, respectively.
The sponge and pig iron sector topped the sales growth chart at 87. 5 per cent while the relatively small carbon black industry ranked second with 84. 3 per cent sales growth.
Hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel companies came third (70. 4 per cent), followed by power cables (67. 8 per cent), textile machinery (58. 7 per cent), shipping (50. 7 per cent) and steel strips, bars and wires (50. 1 per cent).
Among the major industries, composite and alloy steel clocked 37. 1 per cent increase in sales, followed by commercial vehicles (35. 6 per cent), information technology (32. 5 per cent), diversified (24. 7 per cent) and refineries (24. 3 per cent).
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