State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has emerged as the highest profit-making firm in the Indian financial sector in the March quarter, netting a little over ₹23,400 crore.

Even among Central Public Sector Enterprises, the Corporation maintained the number one position for fourth-quarter profit for FY26.

Last week, LIC reported a 23 per cent jump in net profit to record ₹23,420 crore in the just concluded March quarter as compared to ₹19,013 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year..

The insurance behemoth was followed by the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI), and the second-biggest lender HDFC Bank with profit of ₹19,684 crore and ₹19,221 crore, respectively, during the fourth quarter, according to the financial numbers posted on exchanges.

However, SBI significantly outpaced LIC in annual profit, earning ₹80,032 crore in FY26 compared to LIC's ₹57,419 crore.

Similarly, HDFC Bank's profit stood at ₹74,670 crore while ICICI Bank posted a profit of ₹50,147 crore.

Among other PSUs, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) closed the fourth quarter with a net profit of ₹11,378 crore followed by Coal India at ₹10,839 crore, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) earned ₹8,598 crore and NTPC ₹8,747 crore as profit, as per the data available on stock exchanges.

Other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) like Power Grid Corporation of India posted a profit of ₹4,546 crore, REC Ltd net profit at ₹3,375 crore, and Steel Authority of India Ltd at ₹1,680 crore.

A day after the stellar performance of LIC, its shares jumped 5 per cent in opening trade at ₹839 apiece on the BSE on May 23.

LIC's Assets Under Management (AUM) increased to ₹57,29,396 crore as of March 31, 2026, from ₹54,52,297 crore on March 31, 2025, registering an increase of 5 per cent year-on-year.

During the year, LIC's total premium income rose by 10 per cent to ₹54,52,297 crore compared to ₹54,52,297 crore a year ago. At the same time, adjusted net worth improved to Rs 1,69,605 crore from Rs 1,20,258 crore in FY25.

Among the entire corporate sector. Vodafone Idea became the highest quarterly profit earner in the January-March quarter with a record bottom line of ₹51,970 crore, its first ever in about six years mainly due to relief in statutory liabilities.

It was followed by Reliance Industries with a net profit of ₹16,971 crore, down from ₹19,407 crore in the same January-March period in the preceding year.

Published on May 24, 2026