Q4 earnings snapshot: Suzlon, Waaree, BSE and other key profit powerhouse to watch

The street is readying for the Q1 earnings, and all eyes are on how the new financial year kickstarted for corporate India after the blockbuster Q4. In fact, the earnings performance in Q4 exceeded popular expectations by a wide margin. 

The fourth quarter earnings growth bordered around the 10% level as opposed to earlier estimates of low single digit growth. This was one of the reasons why India Inc was able to close FY25 with strong momentum.

As Gautam Duggad, Head of Research – Institutional Equities at Motilal Oswal Financial Services highlighted in an interview with Financia lExpress.com earlier, “most importantly, the quality and spread of the earnings have been far better. 19 out of the 22 sectors in our coverage posted either in-line or better than expected earnings. Even the spread has improved.”

Heroes of Q4: What is  the profit chart suggesting?

Here is a look at the top 5 large cap companies that have clocked the highest quarterly profit.

This data is from the stock screener on Financialexpress.com. We have referred to the screener, “Highest YOY Quarterly profit growth” and sorted stocks by market cap. We chose the large caps to highlight companies delivering the strongest year-on-year profit gains.

India Inc Report card: Highest YOY quarterly profit growth

Source: FE Stock Screener 

Suzlon Energy: The big ‘execution’ boost

Suzlon is the star performer in this category. The Q4FY25 profit for the company jumped over 330% YoY to Rs 1,180 crore from Rs 254 crore in Q4FY24. Even if we track the sequential performance of the company, it has clocked three-fold growth from the previous quarter. One of the big triggers supporting Suzlon’s performance has been the strong order pipeline and recent focus on clean and renewable energy.

Additionally, the company executed 573 MW in the quarter, much higher than the estimates of 475MW. This also bumped up the FY25 execution number to 1.55GW (2.2x YoY). The uptick was aided by a capacity ramp up to 4.5GW. Installations are likely to pick up and the management has guided for 60% YoY growth in deliveries/profit after tax in FY26.

ITC: Agri the big gamechanger

This FMCG major, ITC, has also showcased a strong profitability trajectory. If we compare its Q4FY25 net profit, it is up over 285% YoY at Rs 19,807 crore from Rs 5.191 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Even on a sequential basis, the company has clocked a 3-fold jump in profitability. This is primarily driven by robust growth in the agri business led by leaf tobacco, value-added agri products and rice exports.

For FY25, segment revenue shot up 25% and profits surged 18% YoY. The business recorded robust revenue growth, but a surge in the cost of leaf tobacco weighed on margins. Rice exports increased in H2FY25 following the easing of trading restrictions. The FMCG business remained resilient though the paper business was impacted by low-priced Chinese and Indonesian supplies in global markets.

Waaree Energies: The renewable rush

Another big renewable power play that features prominently in this list is Waaree Energies. Not only did this solar energy play report a strong quarter but also guided for a robust FY26.

After clocking over a 2-fold jump in profits, Waaree Energies management guided for a very strong FY26E EBITDA ((Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of Rs 5,500-6,000 crore implying 2x YoY growth. The confidence stems from given robust demand, higher realisation and firm-priced orders in place at least until the end of FY26. The commissioning of its cell facility and increased power demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and energy storage is expected to help Waaree stay on track with this guidance. The company expects margins to improve as benefits from cell manufacturing materialise, supporting its guidance.

BSE: Profit heading north

This is another standout performer in terms of profitability. Not only has the BSE share price jumped two-fold in the last 1 year, the Q4FY25 profits also surged over 200% YoY between Q4FY24 to Q4FY25. Even sequentially, the BSE profit saw a significant jump to Rs 493.67 crore in Q4 FY25.

However, the SEBI nod to NSE’s proposal to shift its expiry to Tuesday has led to some concerns about BSE seeing a drop in F&O volumes as its F&O expiry has now been changed to Thursday.

However, BSE MD & CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy has clarified to Financialexpress.com that, “most investors start their derivatives strategy for the week at the start of the week, and thus Thursday expiry offers more time to respond to market developments and optimise their positions and also spaced well with Tuesday expiry of NSE.”

PB Fintech: Premium push

PB Fintech has also seen a strong surge in its profitability. The company, that’s been in news on the back of stake sale by its promoters, has also showcased strong earnings. The Fintech and insure-tech play continues to deliver strong growth in core term and health fresh premiums. Despite a 20% YoY slowdown in online new business premium growth, strong renewal premium growth of 50.2% YoY drove up core insurance revenue 44% YoY. The Management guided for a breakeven over the next two years and operating leverage is expected to boost margins going forward.

Meanwhile, PB Fintech’s co-founders Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal sold over 1% stake for Rs 920 crore. It was an open market transaction. PB Fintech is the parent company for insurance platform Policybazaar and the fintech platform Paisabazar.

Why tracking profit growth matters

Overall, a strong profit growth indicates operational efficiency and improving margins. This is key to a company’s financial health.  There were a few other names in the list like NTPC Green and Nykaa. Both these companies also showcased standout profit growth.However, we haven’t detailed the performance as NTPC Green was listed mid-FY25 and Nykaa’s parent company reported profit below the Rs 100 crore mark.