Revival of PSUs: 157% jump in profitability of govt companies in the last 5 years; here are the details

Public-sector undertakings (PSUs) have posted stellar earnings in the June quarter (Q4FY24). On the back of these strong earnings the BSE PSU index has surged over 27 per cent in one year. There are as many as 55 constituents in the BSE PSU index. Data available with corporate database ACE Equity shows that the combined quarterly profit after taxes (PAT) of these 55 government companies surged 10 per cent to Rs 1.32 lakh crore in Q1FY24 from 1.20 lakh crore in the previous quarter Q4FY23.

The combined annual profit for these 55 PSUs in FY23 was recorded at Rs 3.5 lakh crore, which is 7 per cent higher than Rs 3.3 lakh crore profit earned in the previous fiscal FY22. Also in the last five years, the profitability of PSUs has increased significantly. The government-owned companies have posted a 157 per cent jump in combined profit to 3.5 lakh crore from 1.36 lakh crore in FY19.

This robust financial performance is also reflected in the market valuation of these PSUs. The combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of these 55 PSUs was recorded at Rs 36.41 lakh crore on August 30, which was 28 per cent higher than the combined m-cap of Rs 28.41 lakh crore a year ago.

Most profitable PSUs: In the Q1FY24, the State Bank of India with a consolidated PAT of Rs 18,736 crore ranked as the most profitable PSU. It is followed by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Rs 16,857 crore, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Rs 14,396 crore, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) Rs. 10,168 crore and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) Rs.8,651 crore are the top five most profitable PSUs.

Most Valuable PSU: State Bank of India with its latest m-cap of Rs 5.06 lakh crore has the highest market valuation amongst the PSUs. LIC with an m-cap of Rs 4.12 lakh crore, ONGC Rs 2.21 lakh crore, NTPC Rs 2.13 lakh crore and Power Grid Corporation of India Rs 1.72 lakh crore market cap are the five most valuable PSUs.