Earning Optimism is on the Rise Post Sharp Downgrades Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Mumbai, November 20: In a piece of positive news, earning optimism is on the rise post sharp downgrades amid COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year. According to an IANS report, a study done by ICICI Securities noted that coronavirus resulted in the steepest downgrade since the great financial crisis (GFC) of 2018 and now the prospects for earnings going ahead have improved.

The phenomenon was validated as Q2FY21 beats outpaced misses due to low expectations, cost-saving initiatives, rural demand, benign input prices and pockets of pent-up demand which were seen due to the festive season.

The report noted that nominal GDP is broadly expected to be flat or marginally lower in FY22 compared to the FY20 base, which would mean zero to negative GDP growth over FY20-FY22. The report further highlighted that given the high output gap seen in the pre-Covid period (FY20 GDP growth of 4.2 per cent), it is unlikely that FY23 will see a sudden return to potential real GDP growth of eight per cent.

In addition to this, policy measures introduced by the government to bring relief amid the pandemic like attracting investments in agriculture, lower corporate tax rates, digitisation will be beneficial in creating demand over the medium to long term.