Mumbai: India Inc. kicked off the first quarter of FY26 with a mixed bag of strong earnings, aggressive fundraising plans, and a sobering revelation on bad loans. JSW Infrastructure and Shyam Metalics posted robust quarterly results, reflecting strong operational momentum, while the government disclosed that public sector banks (PSBs) wrote off a staggering ₹12.08 lakh crore in bad loans over the last decade.
JSW Infrastructure Ltd, India’s second-largest private port operator and part of the JSW Group, posted a 31.5% surge in net profit for Q1 FY26, driven by a rise in cargo volumes and increased third-party business. Net profit rose to ₹384 crore from ₹292 crore last year, while total revenue climbed 19% to ₹1,314 crore.
The company handled 29.4 million tonnes of cargo in the quarter, up 5% year-on-year, with strong contributions from Ennore, Paradip, and PNP ports. Third-party cargo volumes grew by 8% YoY, now contributing 52% of total cargo handled. Its subsidiary, Navkar Corporation, also posted a sharp jump in cargo movement, strengthening the group’s overall performance.
JSW Infra maintained a healthy net debt to EBITDA ratio of 0.54x and reported ₹4,360 crore in cash reserves a position that sets the company up for strategic growth in India’s expanding logistics and trade sector. The stock closed at ₹317.25, up 0.14% on the BSE.
Meanwhile, Shyam Metalics and Energy Ltd. posted a 5.9% YoY increase in net profit at ₹292.2 crore for Q1 FY26. Revenue rose sharply by 22.4% to ₹4,419 crore, while EBITDA stood at ₹579.8 crore. The company declared a first interim dividend of ₹1.80 per share and fixed July 28 as the record date, with August 19 marked for the final dividend.
In a major capital move, the board approved fundraising of up to ₹4,500 crore through a combination of equity and debt instruments, including ₹3,000 crore worth of non-convertible debentures (NCDs), subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Shares rose 1.57% to ₹935.55 on the BSE.
In a contrasting development, the Finance Ministry informed Parliament that India’s public sector banks have written off over ₹12.08 lakh crore in bad loans between FY16 and FY25. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that these write-offs, done in accordance with RBI norms, do not relieve borrowers of liability recovery efforts continue via civil courts, Debt Recovery Tribunals, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and SARFAESI Act.
State Bank of India led the list with over ₹1.14 lakh crore in write-offs over five years, followed by Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. The clarification emphasized that a write-off is an accounting tool, not a waiver of debt, underscoring persistent challenges in India’s banking sector even as corporate profitability strengthens.
Together, the updates reflect the resilience of India’s corporate sector and the parallel urgency for reforms in financial recovery mechanisms a dual narrative that continues to define India’s economic landscape.