Corporate India raked in an all-time high net profit of over Rs 100,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion) in 2004-05. The 2,100 companies studied notched up an aggregate net profit of Rs 108,691 crore (Rs 1,086.91billion) in 2004-05 compared with Rs 90,164 crore (Rs 901.64 billion) in the previous year.
The total profit figure would be much higher as around 900 companies, which had an aggregate net profit of Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) last year, are yet to announce their results for 2004-05.
Much of the credit for this goes to the top 25 profitable companies, which accounted for 58 per cent of the total figure. The top 25 posted a net profit of Rs 71,761 crore (Rs 717.61 billion) and the remaining 2,975 companies Rs 53,239 crore (Rs 532.39 billion).
Five companies had a net profit of over $1 billion. Steel Authority of India (Sail), with a net profit of Rs 6,817 crore (Rs 68.17 billion), joined the $1 billion net profit club, which had only four members in the previous year.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), with nine months' net profit of Rs 9,185 crore (Rs 12,250 crore if annualised), tops the $1 billion net profit club. ONGC, the first Indian company to achieve a net profit of over Rs 10,000 crore in FY 2003, is set to scale new heights when its board meets to declare its annual results.
Reliance Industries is the second-most profitable among listed corporates.
The company achieved a net profit of Rs 7,572 crore ($1.74 billion) in 2004-05, which is higher by Rs 2,681 crore (Rs 26.81 billion) compared with the net profit of the previous year's runners-up Indian Oil Corporation.
IOC, with a net profit of Rs 4,891 crore ($1.12 billion) slipped to fifth position from second position last year. SAIL, with a net profit of Rs 6,817 crore ($1.56 billion), is India's third most profitable company, while NTPC, with a net profit of Rs 5,807 crore ($1.33 billion), ranked fourth in the overall profitability list.
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