Brands
Mahindra & Mahindra Q3 profit jumps 47 per cent
Revenue rises 26 per cent as autos, farm and services perform
MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra Limited reported a sharp rise in third-quarter earnings, driven by strong performance in its automotive, farm and services businesses.
Consolidated net profit rose 47 per cent year on year to Rs 4,675 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2025, while revenue from operations increased 26 per cent to Rs 52,100 crore, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Excluding the impact of labour code regulation changes, profit after tax rose 54 per cent on year. Consolidated Pat margin improved to 9 per cent from 7.7 per cent a year earlier.
For the nine months ended December, consolidated Pat stood at Rs 12,431 crore, compared with Rs 9,634 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra were trading at Rs 3,697.50, up 0.59 per cent on the day, after paring earlier intraday gains of nearly 3 per cent following the results announcement.
The automotive segment posted consolidated revenue of Rs 30,370 crore in Q3 FY26, up 30 per cent year on year, with Pat rising 42 per cent to Rs 1,993 crore. Quarterly volumes climbed 23 per cent to 3.02 lakh vehicles, including 1.79 lakh utility vehicles. The company retained leadership in SUVs with a revenue market share of 24.1 per cent, up 90 basis points, while light commercial vehicle market share rose to 51.9 per cent.
The farm equipment business reported revenue of Rs 11,501 crore, up 21 per cent, while Pat rose 7 per cent to Rs 1,044 crore. Tractor volumes increased 23 per cent to 1.50 lakh units, though market share eased 20 basis points to 44.0 per cent.
The services segment continued to gain traction, delivering revenue of Rs 11,636 crore, up 21 per cent, with Pat doubling to Rs 1,637 crore. Mahindra Finance reported a 97 per cent rise in Pat, with gross stage-3 assets below 4 per cent. Tech Mahindra’s Ebit margin improved to 13.1 per cent, up 290 basis points. Mahindra Logistics returned to profitability after 11 quarters, while Mahindra Lifespaces posted a five-fold increase in profit.
Group return on equity stood at 20.1 per cent on an annualised basis.
Group CEO and managing director Anish Shah said the company delivered solid operating performance across the group in the December quarter, while group CFO Amarjyoti Barua pointed to the growing contribution from services businesses.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
