After reporting positive earnings growth for five consecutive quarters, corporate earnings were flat in the January-March 2019 quarter. The combined net profit of 1,869 companies, excluding financials and energy, was down 0.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) during the January-March 2019 quarter — their worst showing in the last six quarters.

In comparison, earnings were up 18.7 per cent YoY during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2017-18 and 7.7 per cent YoY during the October-December 2018 quarter. Earnings were hit by a combination of lower demand growth and relatively fast growth .......... BS