Away from the large results of SBI and NSE, Tuesday’s results from mid-sized companies showed the same divide seen all season. Defence and metals companies grew strongly, while gas companies came under pressure. Here are the results that stood out.
More than 200 companies were scheduled to report September-quarter results on Tuesday, one of the busiest days of the season, and most of them did not change the overall picture. We have selected the results that best show the main trends: companies benefiting from defence and commodity demand, those hurt by higher gas costs, and those with steady domestic demand. SBI and NSE, the two largest results of the day, are covered in separate stories.
WINNERS
Solar Industries: profit up 79%, and a large overseas acquisition
Solar Industries, the Nagpur-based maker of explosives and defence products, reported consolidated net profit of ₹617.02 crore, up 78.9% from ₹344.97 crore a year earlier. Revenue rose 69% to ₹3,518.82 crore. EBITDA rose 75% to ₹1,021 crore, a margin of 29%.
Defence was the fastest-growing business, with sales up 98% from a year earlier. Defence made up 29% of quarterly sales, international explosives 43% and domestic explosives 27%. The order book stood at ₹20,178 crore at the end of September.
For the first half, profit rose 86% to ₹1,270 crore and revenue rose 70% to ₹7,187 crore. The company said it expects to beat its FY27 guidance.
Solar also announced a $1.35 billion acquisition of Omnia Holdings, a South African explosives and chemicals company. That would be one of the largest overseas acquisitions by an Indian defence and explosives company, and would significantly increase Solar’s international business, already its largest segment. The shares rose as much as 7% to ₹20,880.
The result contrasts with Bharat Electronics last week, whose order book shrank as new orders slowed. Demand for ammunition and explosives is strong, while orders for larger defence systems have been slower.
NALCO: record half-year profit
National Aluminium Company, which reported on Monday evening, posted a 28% rise in quarterly profit to ₹1,835 crore from ₹1,433 crore. Revenue rose 26% to ₹5,419 crore and EBITDA rose 28% to ₹2,659 crore. First-half profit rose 54% to ₹3,837 crore, NALCO’s best half-year since it was founded.
Management credited operational efficiency, record production and favourable market conditions. The board declared an interim dividend of ₹4.50 a share.
Quarterly profit was 8.4% lower than the June quarter’s ₹2,003 crore, a sign that the rate of improvement is slowing even as profit remains at record levels.
Emcure Pharmaceuticals: profit up 34%
Emcure reported consolidated net profit of ₹326 crore, up 34% from ₹243 crore. It fits the pattern seen at Mankind and Sun Pharma: drugmakers with strong domestic and emerging-market businesses are doing well, while those dependent on US generics are under pressure.
Bata India: profit up 30%, but margins fell
Bata reported consolidated net profit of ₹18.12 crore, up 30.5% from ₹13.89 crore. Revenue rose 7.5% to ₹861.78 crore, its fourth straight quarter of revenue growth. Management credited higher average selling prices, as customers bought more premium footwear, and growth in same-store sales.
Margins were weaker. EBITDA was roughly flat at about ₹144 crore, and the EBITDA margin fell to 16.7% from 18.1%, because of higher input costs, wage increases and one-time charges including foreign exchange losses and asset write-offs. The festive season fell in October this year, so its effect will appear in the December quarter.
LOSERS
Mahanagar Gas: profit down 29%
Mahanagar Gas, which supplies CNG and piped gas in Mumbai, reported a 29% fall in consolidated net profit to ₹136 crore from ₹191.37 crore, even though revenue rose 23%.
Higher revenue with lower profit usually means costs rose faster than prices. With LNG supply from the Gulf disrupted this year, gas costs for city gas distributors have risen. Their prices are politically sensitive, which limits how quickly they can pass on higher costs, the same problem facing state oil companies.
Linde India: profit down 31%
Linde India, the industrial and medical gases company, reported a 30.5% fall in profit to ₹119 crore from ₹171 crore. Revenue rose 12.3% to ₹723 crore, but EBITDA fell 18% to ₹232 crore, and the margin fell sharply to 32% from 44%.
The company also faces ongoing legal uncertainty involving SEBI and Supreme Court proceedings over related-party transactions with its parent group. The shares rose 1.3% to ₹5,838 despite the weaker results.
Jyoti CNC Automation: profit down 15%
Jyoti CNC, which makes machine tools, reported a 15% fall in consolidated profit to ₹72.58 crore from ₹85.50 crore. Machine tool demand depends on manufacturers’ capital spending, which has been held back by rising interest rates and uncertainty this year.
The takeaway
Companies benefiting from defence and commodity demand, such as Solar and NALCO, are reporting record profits. Companies whose margins depend on gas and energy costs, such as Mahanagar Gas and Linde India, are under pressure. Consumer and pharma companies with domestic pricing power are holding up.
The results season has a few more weeks to run, but the divide is now clear: in 2026, a company’s exposure to the Gulf conflict and its effect on energy costs is one of the main factors determining its profits.
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