3 min readMumbaiFeb 25, 2026 09:39 PM IST
Private non-financial companies’ net profits grew at a slower pace of 5.2% in the quarter ended December 2025, compared to a growth of 11.8% in the year-ago period, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
In Q2 FY26, net profits of these companies expanded by 1.5%. The data also showed that private non-financial companies clocked a double-digit sales growth of 10.1% in Q3 FY26, following eleven quarters of single-digit growth.
This acceleration in sales growth was mainly led by substantial improvement in sales of the manufacturing sector, the RBI data on the performance of the private corporate business sector during the third quarter of FY26 showed. The analysis is based on the quarterly financial results of 3,188 listed non-government non-financial companies.
It showed that sales of 1,794 listed private manufacturing companies expanded by 11.4% (y-o-y) during Q3 FY26, up from 8.5% in the previous quarter, on account of higher sales growth in automobiles, electrical machinery and non-ferrous metals industries.
Sales growth of non-IT services companies remained stable at 10.6%, while the IT sector’s sales expanded by 8.8% in October-December 2025, up from 7.8% in the previous quarter.
On the expenditure front, staff costs of manufacturing and IT companies rose at a higher pace to 12.4% and 6.6%, respectively, during Q3 FY26, compared to the previous quarter. However, for non-IT services companies, the staff cost growth moderated to 8.3% during Q3 from 8.9% in the previous quarter.
Staff cost to sales ratio for manufacturing companies remained stable at 5.8% in the third quarter of FY26. However, it moderated for both IT and non-IT services companies during Q3.
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Raw material expenses of manufacturing companies rose by 12.7% (y-o-y) during Q3 FY26 in line with the higher sales growth. Raw material to sales ratio also inched up to 57.5% during Q3 from 55.9% in the previous quarter, pointing to input cost pressure, the data showed.
The data further showed that the operating profit of manufacturing companies increased by 11.8% (y-o-y) during Q3, supported by moderate rise in other operating expenses. IT companies’ operating profit growth improved to 11.1%, while it moderated to 4% for non-IT services companies during the quarter.
Operating profit margin of manufacturing companies moderated sequentially during Q3 FY26, while it improved for services sector companies.
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