Shares of Senco Gold cracked 8.16% to Rs 368.50 on Wednesday on the NSE. The stock came under pressure after the company reported mixed results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026.

While consolidated revenue from operations surged 67% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,056 crore, from Rs 1,826 crore in Q1 FY26, profitability came under pressure. Consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) declined 3% YoY to Rs 101 crore, from Rs 105 crore in the year-ago period. Margins also weakened, with the PAT margin contracting 240 basis points to 3.3%, from 5.7% a year earlier.

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) grew 16% YoY to Rs 213 crore, from Rs 184 crore in Q1 FY26. However, the EBITDA margin contracted 310 basis points to 7%, from 10% a year earlier, due to promotional discounting, lower gold prices and changes in customs duty.

Strong operational growth across retail network

Despite margin pressures, Senco Gold maintained operational momentum across retail operations. Retail sales grew 50% YoY to Rs 2,651.5 crore, supported by robust same-store sales growth of 39%.
The company’s performance was boosted by key festive and wedding occasions in the early part of the quarter, including Poila Boishakh, Akshaya Tritiya, Baisakhi, and Bihu. Old jewellery exchange played a crucial role in maintaining sales momentum amid high gold prices, accounting for 43% of total sales quantity.

Diamond jewellery also posted strong growth, expanding 43% YoY in value terms and 18% in volume terms. This expansion was largely driven by demand for lower-ticket offerings priced below Rs 50,000 under the Everlite collection.

Showroom expansion and subsidiary impact

During the April-June period, Senco Gold expanded its network by adding eight net new showrooms, taking its total count from 201 stores as of March 31 to 209 showrooms by June 30. The group remains on track to add another 12-15 showrooms during the rest of FY27, focusing on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and franchise partners.Subsidiary performance weighed on consolidated results. While Senco Global Apparel turned a profit, losses at Senco Gold Fine Jewellery LLC and Dubai-based SGJTL weighed on overall group profitability amid geopolitical uncertainties and the war.

Management commentary on performance and outlook

Suvankar Sen, Managing Director & CEO of Senco Gold, expressed confidence in the company’s underlying growth trajectory.

“We are pleased to begin FY27 with a strong Q1 performance, building on the momentum achieved in FY26. Consolidated revenue from operations increased 67% YoY, reflecting the continued trust of our customers in Brand Senco and broad-based demand during the festive and summer wedding seasons,” Sen said.

Looking forward, Sen noted that while Q2 is seasonally softer, Senco Gold remains focused on new design launches, store productivity, and margin protection. “We remain focused on achieving 20%+ value growth in FY27 while strengthening Brand Senco across the country,” he added.

Sanjay Banka, Group CFO & Head IR, highlighted that the company reduced quarterly inventory by Rs 300 crore to optimize efficiency and inventory days.

“We remain committed to FY27 value growth of 20%+ and EBITDA margin of 7.5%-7.8%, while working towards a sustainable PAT margin of 4%-4.5% with a sharp focus on Return on Capital Employed,” Banka added.

The Food and Drink Federation has warned that grocery prices will continue rising into 2027, with the possibility of shortages, as one of the UK’s hottest and driest summers on record cuts supplies of fruit, vegetables and grain.

The trade body, which represents food and drink manufacturers, said the lack of rainfall and arid conditions were likely to lead to higher prices and lower supplies of fruit and vegetables, putting upward pressure on food inflation into next year.

The supply of a number of UK-grown crops, including broccoli and cherries, has already come under pressure, while poor grain harvests are driving up the cost of animal feed, which could lead to more expensive meat.

The warning comes as Britain braces for the fifth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 38C on Thursday. More than two thirds of England has been declared to be in drought this week.

Dr Liliana Danila, chief economist at the FDF, said: “Not only is the UK experiencing one of its hottest and driest summers on record, but across most of Europe heatwaves and severe droughts are impacting fruit, vegetable and grain supply.

“Competition for fewer resources will in turn push up the price of ingredients for manufacturers. The UK’s food and drink manufacturers work hard to absorb costs where they can, but are already grappling with rising costs as a result of war in Ukraine and in Iran, so we expect the additional upward pressure of reduced crops will be reflected in retail prices into next year.”

Retailers have already reported food prices rising this summer as hot weather reduced harvest yields. Food inflation climbed to a peak of 19.2 per cent in 2023, and household bills rose rapidly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

At its interest rate meeting last month, the Bank of England warned that an especially strong El Niño weather phenomenon, as has been predicted this year, would lead to “hotter and drier conditions across several major agricultural-exporting regions [which] could reduce crop yields and put upward pressure on global food prices”.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board said milk production has already been affected by the extreme heat, with yields hit by heat-stressed cows and poor conditions for grass grazing.

NatWest has drawn up plans to offer loan repayment holidays and overdrafts to its more than 40,000 farming borrowers, who face the prospect of lower crop yields. The bank warned that the impact could outlast the immediate heatwave, with warmer weather increasing the risks of disease outbreaks and damaging livestock productivity.

Ian Burrow, head of agriculture at NatWest, said: “British farmers are increasingly being forced to manage the consequences of weather extremes, from flooding one season to drought the next. The challenge for many businesses is no longer simply recovering from a single event but building resilience for a future where these conditions are becoming more frequent.

“With harvests progressing earlier than usual in some areas and livestock farmers already relying on winter feed stocks due to poor grass growth, cashflow and feed availability could become increasingly challenging.”

Analysts at Shore Capital have warned that Britain faces its worst food security crisis in decades as repeated heatwaves risk ruining farmers’ harvests.

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Shares of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) rose more than 2% on Wednesday as international brokerages issued bullish calls on the stock after market regulator Sebi proposed to allow foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to participate in non-agricultural commodity derivative contracts, which are physically settled on domestic exchanges.

In a consultation paper issued on Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) listed proposals aimed at widening the scope of FPI participation in commodity derivatives. At present, overseas investors can trade in non-agricultural commodity derivative contracts that are only cash-settled. For commodity index derivatives, FPIs currently can participate only where the index and its underlying contracts are cash-settled.

The market regulator has now proposed removing this restriction as index derivatives are always cash-settled irrespective of whether their underlying contracts are cash-settled. “It would also facilitate greater integration of India’s commodity derivatives market with international commodity markets and support the development of Indian commodity contracts as credible price discovery venues,” said Sebi, which has invited comments on the proposals.

Also read | Sebi proposes to allow FPIs to participate in physically settled commodity derivatives

JPMorgan on MCX share price

JPMorgan upgraded its rating on the shares of MCX to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’, and hiked its target price to Rs 3,500 apiece from Rs 2,560 apiece. The latest target price implies 21% upside potential from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 2,895 apiece on NSE.

It noted that Sebi’s new consultation paper proposes to admit FPIs into non-agri commodity index derivatives, and more materially into physically-settled non-agri contracts, marking the deepest structural widening of the foreign investor base in Indian exchange-traded commodity derivatives (ETCDs) since FPIs were first onboarded in 2022.
JPMorgan reads this as a structural volume catalyst for MCX, with bullion as the primary beneficiary.

Jefferies on MCX share price

Jefferies has a ‘Buy’ call on the shares of MCX, with a target price of Rs 3,600 apiece. This implies more than 24% upside potential.

The international brokerage noted that the FPI participation in cash-settled commodity F&O is 5-6% currently. Similar participation in physically settled non-agricultural contracts could add 3% to MCX’s profit, it added.

A deepening of commodity index options, which currently have no volumes, could add 10% to MCX’s profits, should they become 10% of monthly equity ADTO in three years, Jefferies further said.

Morgan Stanley on Sebi proposal

Morgan Stanley noted that FPIs contributed to approximately 4% of total notional turnover in FY26 and around 2% in Q1 FY27, as per Sebi data. The share from FPIs is likely to be higher when based on cash-settled contracts notional turnover, where FPIs are currently allowed to participate, it added.

MCX share price

MCX shares have gained around 13% in a week and 6% in a month, with the stock overall being up more than 33% in 2026 so far. It has overall gained more than 79% in one year.

In the longer term, MCX shares have delivered stellar returns of more than 828% in three years and 868% in five years. The company currently has a market capitalisation of over Rs 73,968 crore.

Also read | Sebi proposes to expand FPI play in commodities

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he accepts his announcements aimed at tackling the cost of living are not enough on their own and hinted at further support.

Burnham told BBC’s Wake up to Money he will deliver an “accumulation of smaller things” that “combine to take the pressure down” on household budgets.

He spoke of an overhaul of train fares and “more public control” of energy, water and housing but did not give details on how he would bring this about.

Burnham has made a number of announcements to help people with the cost of living since taking office, including the removal of VAT from domestic energy bills and bringing forward an already planned end to ‘subscription traps’.

Asked whether the changes he had announced were not significant to people struggling, he said: “I can accept criticism that this isn’t enough, because I wouldn’t say it’s enough.

“But I take an approach to politics where I do what I can, when I can. Just take that little bit of pressure off and address an issue that you know needs addressing.

“It’s not the end of the story,” he added.

The prime minister, who is embarking on a tour of the UK while Parliament is in recess, said he believed “more public control of essential services” such as water, energy and housing, “would mean we could get to a more substantial answer to the cost of living crisis”.

On water, he said it would not be easy to reverse the privatisation of water companies in England and Wales that took place in the 1980s.

“But very much, I’m looking at what can be done. Same with energy.”

He also said that, following the return of rail operators to public ownership, he wanted to “remodel the rail fares so that we can get more public benefit for people”.

Burnham said he has asked Chancellor John Healey to look at what the government can do further on the cost of living in the upcoming Budget, on 28 October, and that Healey has said it will be his “main focus”.

Healey has made it clear he will oversee “strong fiscal discipline” – which will limit how much the government has to spend.

One major think tank recently warned that he will have to raise taxes or cut spending to meet Burnham’s pledges on defence and the cost of living.

Labour’s manifesto pledge was to not increase taxes for working people — including income tax, VAT and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) – which Burnham has said he will uphold.

He will likely face pressure to address rising costs for businesses, after previous budgets under Rachel Reeves saw employer’s national insurance and minimum wages go up.

Last month Burnham said pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England would be given a 20% cut to business rates from April, calling it a “first step” to help the industry.

He told the BBC he accepted the national insurance hike had added pressure on businesses, and that the government would look at business rates “more broadly”.

Burnham said: “I would like to bring down the cost of doing businesses. I want to make high streets more vibrant across the country. I know that cannot be done by simply wishing it.”

But he said he did not want to “at this point, start making commitments”.

“Those are for the Budget.”

In the report some young people raised their concerns about education and said they were unhappy about a lack of teachers for specific subjects, a high turnover of teachers and the poor state of some of the school buildings.

Some of the students also said they did not feel that the government listened to their concerns and they felt they had a lack of influence over decision-making.

Brink said: “They have also told us that they do not always feel heard.

“Listening is important, but listening alone is not enough, we must also act on what they are telling us.”

She said they were the “next generation of our workforce and community leaders” and their voices should be central to decisions about the island’s future.

The Medical Officer Health Report said: “This sense of limited agency may contribute to disengagement and reduced well-being, while also shaping expectations about the future.”

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