How to analyse quarterly results in India: sales, margins and profit
How to analyse quarterly results in India: sales, EBITDA margin and profit, YoY versus QoQ, one-offs and guidance, and where SuperCharting shows them.
To analyse quarterly results in India, compare each line of the quarter against the same quarter a year ago (YoY) and the quarter before it (QoQ): sales first, then the operating margin, then net profit, and finally ask whether anything unusual or one-off is lifting or hurting the profit. Management guidance then tells you what the company expects next. This page walks through that order with a worked example and shows where SuperCharting displays the numbers. It is a way of reading results, not advice on any stock.
When results arrive and what a quarter is
Indian companies report on the financial year that runs from April to March. Q1 is April to June, Q2 is July to September, Q3 is October to December and Q4 is January to March. Listed companies must publish quarterly results within 45 days of the quarter's end, and the full-year results for Q4 within 60 days. So the July to September quarter is reported mostly in October and early November, and the heavy results season for the March quarter falls in April and May.
A results announcement usually comes with a press release, a results PDF filed on the exchange, and often an investor call where management explains the numbers and gives its outlook.
The numbers to read, in order
1. Revenue (sales)
Revenue shows whether the business is growing. Look at growth YoY first. Ask whether it comes from volume (more units sold), price, or an acquisition. Revenue that grows slower than the industry may mean lost share.
2. EBITDA and EBITDA margin
EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a proxy for operating profit. The margin is EBITDA divided by sales. A rising margin on rising sales is the strongest combination. A falling margin tells you costs grew faster than sales; check what the company says about raw materials, wages or competition.
3. Net profit (PAT) and EPS
PAT is profit after tax. EPS is PAT divided by shares, so it is the number to compare when the share count changes. PAT sits below interest, depreciation, tax and other income, so it can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the core business.
4. YoY versus QoQ
Use YoY as your main comparison, because many businesses are seasonal: festive-season demand lifts consumer companies in October to December, and a Q4 can be strong for companies that book year-end sales. Comparing Q3 with Q2 may only show the season. QoQ is useful for momentum within the year and for businesses with little seasonality, such as most large IT companies.
5. One-offs
Check whether the quarter includes items that will not repeat:
- A gain from selling an asset or a stake, or an exceptional loss such as a write-off.
- A tax write-back or an unusually low or high tax rate.
- A big jump in other income, such as treasury gains, which the core business did not earn.
- A one-time provision, or a change in how revenue is booked.
If PAT jumped but EBITDA did not, look for the cause before celebrating.
6. Guidance and commentary
Guidance is the company's statement about the next quarter or year: revenue growth, margin range, order book, capital spending plans. It is usually in the press release and the call, not in the results table. Note whether management raised, kept or cut earlier guidance.
7. Banks and financials are different
For a bank, net interest income, net interest margin, gross and net NPAs and credit cost matter more than EBITDA. The table described below does not show those lines, so use the filed results for banks.
A worked example
Take an illustrative company (not a real one) with these figures in Rs crore:
| This quarter | Same quarter last year | Last quarter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1,000 | 900 | 950 |
| EBITDA | 180 | 153 | 170 |
| EBITDA margin | 18.0% | 17.0% | 17.9% |
| Net profit | 110 | 90 | 98 |
Sales are up 11.1% YoY (100 / 900) and 5.3% QoQ (50 / 950). The EBITDA margin improved by one percentage point YoY, from 17.0% to 18.0%, so operating profit grew faster than sales (about 17.6%). Net profit grew 22.2% YoY, faster still. That looks good until the notes show that PAT includes a one-time gain of 25 on a property sale. Without it, PAT is 85, which is about 5.6% lower than a year ago. The core business grew sales and margins, yet underlying profit was a little weaker, perhaps because of higher depreciation or interest. That is the kind of detail the headline "profit up 22%" hides.
How to analyse quarterly results in SuperCharting
SuperCharting's company page shows the quarterly numbers for stocks in the screener. It reads them from a public market-data feed once the company's quarter has been reported.
- Open Screeners on the right-hand widget bar and set the market chip to India.
- Click the Symbol header, type
TCSand click the TCS row. (In the Watchlist you can select a stock and press Metrics instead.) The stock loads on your chart and its company page opens. - Under Earnings and growth, read Latest result for the date reported, EPS against the estimate, revenue against the estimate and the surprise in percent. Next result shows the expected date and the estimates.
- Read the Sales growth and Profit growth cards, which give Quarter YoY, Quarter QoQ, trailing twelve months and five-year growth.
- Scroll to Quarterly results. One column per quarter, oldest on the left, shows Sales, Sales growth YoY, Gross profit, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, Net profit, Net profit growth YoY and diluted EPS, for up to 12 quarters. Look for a margin that rises or falls over several quarters, not just one.
- For NSE stocks, scroll to Announcements and open the filed PDF for the results. The company's statement tells you whether the figures are standalone or consolidated, and it lists exceptional items. Board meetings shows the date and purpose of upcoming meetings.
- Click ← Back to results, and use Peer comparison to see how the same ratios look for companies in the same industry.
The full list of what the page shows is in Indian stocks fundamentals.
What the page does not show
It does not list exceptional items or other income as separate lines, segment results, management guidance or concall notes. It does not break out bank-specific figures either. Open the results PDF under Announcements, or the company's investor page, for those.
Putting the numbers next to the chart
Results often move the price in a single session, so many traders look at the chart before and after. A few practical steps:
- Open the stock's daily chart and look at the candle on the results date: the gap, the volume and whether the close held the opening move.
- Draw a horizontal line at the previous high or low and set a price alert at it.
- Use Bar Replay on past results days to see how the stock behaved, bar by bar, without knowing what came next.
- Screen first in the stock screener with a query such as
YOY quarterly sales growth > 15 AND YOY quarterly profit growth > 15, or start from the ready-made Quarterly growers screen, then open the company pages of the results.
Reported figures describe the past, and estimates can be wrong. This page is for education and research.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use YoY or QoQ?
Use YoY as the default and QoQ as a check on momentum. A seasonal business can look weak QoQ and fine YoY.
What is a good EBITDA margin?
There is no single number. Margins differ by industry, so compare a company with its own past quarters and with peers in the same industry.
Why can PAT rise when EBITDA falls?
Other income, a lower tax rate, lower interest or a one-time gain can lift PAT while operations weaken. Check the quarter's notes for exceptional items.
Where can I find the original result filing?
For NSE stocks, the Announcements section of the company page links to the PDF the company filed with the exchange.