Private corporate sector sales grow 10.1 percent in 2025-26
The Reserve Bank of India released data on the performance of 4,278 listed non-government non-financial companies during 2025-26. The private corporate sector recorded a double-digit sales growth of 10.1 percent.
Manufacturing drives sales acceleration
During 2025-26, listed private non-financial companies recorded a double-digit sales growth of 10.1 percent at an aggregate level, accelerating after two years of single-digit growth.
This acceleration was mainly led by a substantial improvement in the manufacturing sector, which expanded by 10.8 percent during 2025-26 compared to 6.0 percent in the previous year.
Key contributors to manufacturing growth included automobiles, electrical machinery, food & beverages, and chemicals industries.
In contrast, the petroleum industry continued to experience a contraction in sales.
IT companies also saw their sales growth inch up further to 7.9 percent during 2025-26 from 7.1 percent in the previous year.
Non-IT services companies maintained double-digit sales growth, primarily driven by a healthy performance in the wholesale & retail trade industry.
Input costs rise, but IT profits hold
Manufacturing companies faced input cost pressures, with raw material expenses rising by 12.0 percent and the raw material to sales ratio increasing to 57.6 percent from 55.7 percent a year ago.
Staff costs also rose across manufacturing (10.7%), IT (6.1%), and non-IT services (9.0%) sectors.
Despite these cost increases, manufacturing operating profit growth improved to 10.3 percent, though their operating profit margin declined by 30 basis points to 13.9 percent.
Non-IT services companies saw operating profit growth decelerate to 7.1 percent, with margins falling by 210 basis points.
IT companies, however, showed resilience, improving operating profit growth to 10.7 percent and increasing margins by 50 basis points to 22.4 percent.
Manufacturing companies' interest coverage ratio (ICR) improved to 9.1 from 7.9, indicating better debt servicing capacity.
Resilience despite headwinds
The data reveals a robust recovery in corporate sales, particularly in manufacturing, indicating strong underlying demand.
However, rising input costs suggest companies face margin pressures, potentially impacting future profitability.
The divergent performance, with IT firms showing strong margin improvement, highlights uneven sector-specific impacts.