Margin trouble

The analyses by this newspaper of corporate results for the fourth quarter of 2011-12 reveal that the trend of falling profit margins continues, allied to persistent inflation and a growth slowdown. This is the fifth successive quarter that margins have fallen and equity analysts have shaved forward estimates. Consensus earnings estimates of 2012-13 for the Nifty basket have been downgraded by two or three per cent since fourth-quarter results were received. Overall, quarter on quarter, across all 63 sectors, the net profit growth was an anaemic 2.7 per cent.

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