Wednesday’s earnings slate brought a mix of strong growth, missed estimates and market surprises. Eternal’s revenue and operating earnings beat expectations, but its profit fell short of the poll. Indian Hotels raised its FY27 growth outlook, while SRF and Vishal Mega Mart came under pressure as profitability concerns overshadowed revenue growth. Elsewhere, PC Jeweller’s debt-free balance sheet marked a key milestone, and Mahindra Finance delivered strong profit growth alongside improving asset quality. Here’s what stood out.
Eternal: Blinkit expansion and food delivery growth in focus
Eternal, the parent of Zomato and Blinkit, reported a 92.3% year-on-year jump in Q2 FY27 profit to ₹125 crore, although it missed the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹250 crore. Revenue surged 77.6% to ₹24,138 crore, while EBITDA beat expectations at ₹752 crore.
The bigger takeaway was the continued acceleration in food delivery, where net order value growth reached 21.5% in the September quarter. Blinkit, meanwhile, is targeting around 5,000 stores by March 2028, underlining the scale of its expansion ambitions.
Indian Hotels: Growth outlook gets a lift
Indian Hotels Company, which operates the Taj brand, raised its FY27 consolidated revenue growth guidance to 15–17%, from 12–14% earlier, after reporting a 19.5% rise in net profit to ₹380 crore.
Revenue grew 21.7% to ₹2,484 crore, supported by domestic hotel performance, management fees and contributions from acquisitions. The caveat: EBITDA margin contracted sharply from a year earlier, even as the company delivered double-digit growth across key financial metrics.
SRF: Stock sinks as profit misses expectations
SRF shares fell as much as 6.5% after its September-quarter profit came in below expectations. Net profit rose 31.2% year on year to ₹509 crore, while revenue increased 34.7% to ₹4,904 crore.
The contrast between robust revenue growth and the earnings miss put the spotlight on operating performance. The chemicals business continued to contend with shifting global pricing trends, excess capacity in China and geopolitical uncertainty.
Vishal Mega Mart: Revenue grows, but margins tell another story
Vishal Mega Mart shares dropped as much as 7% after its quarterly numbers showed profitability growing much more slowly than revenue. Sales rose 14% to ₹3,399 crore, but EBITDA increased just 4.3% to ₹412 crore.
The EBITDA margin narrowed to 12.1% from 13.2% a year earlier, with the company citing operating deleverage linked to the shift in festival timing. Same-store sales growth stood at 5.4%, or 9% on an adjusted basis.
M&M Finance: Profit jumps, asset quality improves
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services reported a 55% increase in net profit to ₹882 crore, with net interest income rising 13.2% to ₹2,391 crore.
The other positive signal came from asset quality: Stage 3 assets declined to 3.4% from 3.9% a year earlier, while Stage 2 assets fell to 4.7% from 5.8%. Disbursements also grew 22%, pointing to continued business momentum.
PC Jeweller: Debt-free milestone, expansion plans ahead
PC Jeweller reported a 58% rise in net profit to ₹331 crore, while revenue grew 27.8% to ₹1,054 crore. EBITDA rose faster than sales, lifting the margin to 29.3% from 21.5% a year earlier.
The bigger development was the company’s announcement that it had repaid all outstanding bank debt, a move it expects to lower future interest costs. It also plans to open up to 100 showrooms over the next 12–18 months, combining balance-sheet repair with an expansion push.
KEI Industries: Strong sales, but profitability misses the mark
KEI Industries delivered a 38.5% increase in revenue to ₹3,776 crore, driven by its Cables & Wires business. Net profit rose 29.3% to ₹262.4 crore.
However, both EBITDA and margin fell short of poll expectations. The results highlighted the difference between strong demand-led growth and the ability to translate it into better-than-expected profitability.
Others worth noting
Adani Green Energy reported a 41.6% rise in revenue to ₹4,258 crore, while EBITDA jumped 46% to ₹3,797 crore. Its EBITDA margin expanded to 89.2%, from 87% a year earlier.
Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC saw its shares fall as much as 7% before recovering. Net profit stood at ₹221 crore, broadly in line with estimates, while higher employee expenses and a sharp drop in other income shaped the quarter.
Mahindra Holidays shares rose nearly 9% after net profit increased 11.8% to ₹19.95 crore and revenue grew 9.3% to ₹784 crore. The company has eight ongoing greenfield and brownfield projects expected to add around 1,000 keys.
From the boardroom: Solar security and the rate-hike equation
Premier Energies on CNBC-TV18
Premier Energies highlighted the ₹2.5 lakh crore investment by Indian companies in the solar industry, describing the sector as important for energy security. It does not expect a meaningful near-term impact from China’s proposed technology curbs, although it sees itself as well placed over the longer term if the proposals are implemented.
Union Bank of India on CNBC-TV18
Union Bank said every 25-basis-point rate hike could lift its net interest margin by 5 basis points per quarter. It does not expect a 50-basis-point hike to affect NPAs, but flagged stress linked to one account in the SME 2 segment and said the impact of El Niño on its agricultural loan book bears watching.