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Keeping the faith

Post first-quarter earnings, FY14 estimates are likely to be further downgraded

Soumik Kar

Sell-side analysts are expected to be optimistic and objective, but not necessarily in that order. While an objective view does help the investing community at large, optimistic reports are integral to one’s survival on the sell-side. No wonder then, most analysts are projecting that FY14 will be a much better year in terms of earnings growth for frontline companies. The consensus: Sensex companies will see an earnings growth of 19% in FY14 compared with 7% during the last financial year. However, like any composite score, this 19% earnings growth has a wart and that, in this case, is one of back-ended growth.