Mumbai, Jan 30, 2026, 14:33 IST
- Nestle India reports a 46% jump in December-quarter profit; shares rise
- Results season peaks with 158 companies due Friday after a packed Thursday
- One-off charges linked to labour codes and restructuring muddy comparisons
Nestle India posted a 46% jump in December-quarter profit on Friday, riding stronger demand for packaged foods after tax cuts lifted spending. Its shares were up 2.4% after it reported profit of 10.18 billion rupees and revenue of 56.67 billion.
Nestle is one of 158 companies due to report on Friday, including NTPC, Meesho, Bajaj Auto, Power Grid, Bank of Baroda, Ambuja Cements and Tata Investment Corporation. The stack of results has traders watching for any slip in demand or margins that could spill into index moves.
The December quarter covers the festival-heavy stretch for many consumer firms, so investors tend to treat it as a read on volume growth, not just price hikes. This time, several companies have also flagged labour-code costs and restructuring charges, which makes year-on-year comparisons noisy.
Thursday’s calendar was crowded too, with ITC, Dabur, Tata Motors, Swiggy, Paytm, Adani Power and Vedanta among the companies reporting, Upstox said. The site also noted Larsen & Toubro booked a one-time provision of 1,191 crore rupees tied to new labour codes. Economic Times put the Thursday tally at about 140 companies.
ITC said consolidated profit after tax (PAT) attributable to owners was 4,931 crore rupees, little changed from a year earlier, while revenue rose 7% to 21,707 crore. It declared an interim dividend of 6.50 rupees a share and said cigarette business revenue grew 8.2%.
Paytm posted a quarterly profit of 2.25 billion rupees, beating analysts’ average estimate of 1.91 billion, helped by growth in its payments and financial services segments, Reuters reported. The company said it was extending Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s role in its payments services unit to ensure “continuity of leadership”. Reuters
Swiggy reported a 54% rise in operating revenue to 6,148 crore rupees, but its net loss widened 33% to 1,065 crore as spending climbed at Instamart, its quick-commerce arm that promises rapid grocery deliveries.
Vedanta reported net profit of 57.10 billion rupees for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 35.47 billion a year earlier, as stronger base metal prices lifted margins. Its operating profit margin rose to 27% from 22%, and Elara Capital analysts pointed to tighter supply conditions in China supporting aluminium prices.
In a separate statement, Vedanta executive director Arun Misra called it a “landmark quarter” and pointed to progress on a demerger after an order from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the corporate court. Chief financial officer Ajay Goel said the quarter was “remarkable,” citing record revenue and EBITDA — a common proxy for operating profit. Vedanta
Tata Motors said profit fell 60.4% to 5.61 billion rupees after one-time charges of 15.45 billion, including costs linked to its demerger and a hit from new labour codes. Revenue rose 20% to 203.15 billion rupees, and the company said demand should strengthen in the March quarter.
Dabur reported a 7% rise in net profit to 5.6 billion rupees, broadly in line with expectations, as demand after a consumption tax cut offset a one-time labour-code charge. CEO Mohit Malhotra said the company was “well‑positioned for the coming quarters” as the tax changes work through. Reuters
Adani Power posted an 18.9% fall in profit to 24.8 billion rupees as power demand softened after extended monsoon rains and cooler temperatures, the company said. Motilal Oswal analysts said demand fell in October and November but recovered in December.
But the earnings picture is messy. One-off costs tied to labour code changes and corporate reshuffles are showing up across sectors, and they can mask underlying trends in volumes, pricing and margins — the stuff investors really trade on.
In consumer staples, Nestle’s surge and Dabur’s steadier growth will be weighed against ITC’s cigarette-led performance and its push in packaged foods and other FMCG lines. For markets more broadly, the remaining Friday results from power producers, lenders and autos will help fill in the demand picture heading into the March quarter.
