Inside the issue: The Next 500  

Now in its fifth year, the Fortune India Next 500 takes a close, hard look at several aspects of the midsize companies space, and its findings have always led to significant takeaways about the health of corporate India.

This year is particularly significant, since there is a sharp fall in the cumulative profit of the Next 500 companies—a steep 65% drop from the previous year’s figure. For a space which is critical to the economy in terms of its contribution to employment generation and economic growth, this decline in profits is distressing.

The chief reason for this fall is the over-leveraged situation of some of the Next 500 constituents. A closer look at the list shows that just 65 companies have ratcheted up losses to the tune of a staggering ₹32,700 crore, while the cumulative profits of the remaining 435 companies add up to ₹38,320 crore, leaving a positive of just ₹5,620 crore.

Equally alarming is the situation on the debt side. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) saw its debt stand at ₹15,314 crore, while the next most over-leveraged company, Aban Offshore, stands at ₹13,740 crore. What’s more, just six companies account for as much as 60% of the total losses of the Next 500 companies this year

Catch a sneak peek into our Fortune India Next 500 quarterly special with editor Sourav Majumdar, associate editor Rajiv Bhuva and senior assistant editor Arnika Thakur.

Issue on stands and Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UGxNPK