COMPANIES | PAGE 6 THE BIG IDEA | PAGE 6 Moglix is rewiring industrial procurement BACK PAGE | PAGE 16 ‘India aircraft fleet to quadruple by 2044’ CHENNAI/KOCHI, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2026 Legendary photographer Raghu Rai dies at 83 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL NO. XLVI 300, 24 PAGES, `12 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E COMPANIES PAGE 6 RELIANCE FIRES UP Q-COMM ENGINE RELIANCE RETAIL is scaling up its quick commerce business, positioning hyperlocal delivery at the core of its retail strategy. The move comes as hyperlocal orders surge over fourfold in Q4, reports Viveat Susan Pinto. » INSIDE « GOVTTOHARNESSCITY-LEVEL DATAONINFORMALSECTOR PAGE 2 Q&As: RAM SINGH & SUGATA BHATTACHARYA PAGE 7 NEWSPOINT PAGE 2 ASHOKLAHIRI BRINGSFISCAL DISCIPLINE, EMPIRICAL RIGOUR&A SCEPTICISMOF EASYPOPULISM TOPOLICYTABLE West Asia, oil prices, earnings to drive market THE ONGOING GEOPOLITICAL crisis in West Asia, Q4 earnings from corporates and crude oil prices are the major factors to drive sentiments in the stock market, reports PTI. ■ PAGE 7 RESULTS REVIEW FE S P E C I A L S OPM (%, bps) KISHOR KADAM Mumbai, April 26 EARNINGS SEASON HAS opened on a reasonably strong note, with early birds posting a near 14% year-onyear rise in net profits for the March quarter. The robust bottom-line growth comes despite a muted 4.5% increase in net sales, weighed down by weak other operating income. Even amid pockets of inflationary pressure, India Inc has managed costs effectively. For a sample of 141 companies, including banks and financials, operating profit margins expanded by 102 basis pointsyear-on-year. Among the early standouts are Nestle and Trent, both of which reported around 30% growth in net profits, while Hindustan Zinc posted a sharp 68% jump. In contrast, Reliance Industries delivered a subdued performance, as did IT services majors facing Q1 Q2 Q3 FY26 Q4 Net profit (%) 5.0 14.4 4.5 1.5 Q1 Q2 16.2 Q1 Net sales (%) Q3 Q4 5.2 Q2 Q3 4.2 Q4 FY26 Sample of 141 companies (including banks , financials & insurance ) Source: Capitaline demand headwinds. Infosys’ FY27 revenue guidance also disappointed.Among banks, ICICI Bank reported a relatively strong quarter. Nestle’s performance was driven by aggressive expansion in rural distribution, a sharper focus on quick commerce and continued cost efficiencies. The company 13.7 reported a healthy 23% yearon-year rise in revenue,led by double-digit volume growth. Despite inflation in key inputs such as milk and edible oil, operating margins expanded by 60 basis points. Trent, too, delivered a recovery quarter. Continued on Page 12 Oil shock deepens on tanker squeeze Trump: Iran can call ifitwants to talk A 50% COLLAPSE in available tanker capacity, a 130 millionbarrel logistics gap, and a 14.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) disruption—equivalent to 57% of Gulf output—are emerging as the biggest barriers to restoring global oil supply, even as markets look beyond immediate geopolitical tensions, reports Saurav Anand. The scale of the disruption is unprecedented. Gulf crude production has dropped sharply to 11 mbpd from an estimated 25.4 mbpd preconflict, highlighting the depth of the supply shock hitting global markets. ■ PAGE 2 Experts warn legacy systems across energy,telecom,manufacturing and utilities could be exposed faster asAI accelerates attacks Mythos risks spread beyond banks URVI MALVANIA & POULOMI CHATTERJEE Mumbai/Bengaluru, April 26 BANKING MAYBE dominating the headlines after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the risks from AI tools like Claude Mythos at a meeting with bankers last week,but the deeper cyber risk is spreading quietlyacross corporateIndia’sdigitalbackbone. From power grids and oil pipelines to telecom networks and factory floors, security experts warn that AI tools are accelerating a shift already underway: attackers can now scan,identifyandexploitsystem weaknessesatmachinespeed. “Banking got the headline because bankers were in the room when Mythos was briefed.The real exposure is in the sectors that weren’t,” Srikara Rao, chief technology officer at R Systems,said. EXPOSED BACKBONE AI tools are accelerating cyberattacks across all critical infrastructure sectors Legacy systems in power grids create fertile ground for attackers Oil and gas pipelines run on slowly patched, outdated software Manufacturers risk physical disruption, not just data theft, from breaches ConsultingfirmBain&CompanyarguesthatMythosislessa standalone threat than a signal that AI-enabled cyberattacks have reached a new level of sophistication.Yearsofunderinvestment have left many enterprises exposed,with ageing systems and fragmented networks creating fertile ground for BO ERICKSON, NANDITA BOSE, JANAWINTER & STEVE HOLLAND Washington, April 26 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP and officials in his administration were the likely targets of a suspect who fired on a security agent guarding the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday. 40+ Years Legacy in Health Management Research Rs. 35.6 LPA Highest Package Executive Programs #1 Rs. 3.80 Cr. Scholarships #15 »INSIDE« EDIT: NEWTEST FOR BANKS PAGE 8 »INSIDE« WORLD LEADERS CONDEMN SHOOTING INCIDENT PAGE 12 Two-year full-time Programs Healthcare Management University in India by Education World 2026 and 2025 Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 12 IIHMR University, Jaipur Executive MPH Executive MHA Executive MBA (CSR & ESG Management) torsliewithintheblastradius— BFSI,Power & Energy,Telecom, andGovernment&Defence.” The man fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner. (#1 Healthcare Management University in India) Offered by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA in cooperation with IIHMR University, Jaipur, India exploitation. “Many organisations will need to significantly increasecybersecurityspending — by as much as two times current levels.Planned increases of around 10% annually fall far short of what the threat now demands,”thefirmsaid.Thesectorsmostexposedformafamiliarbut critical cluster.“Foursec- Trumplikelytargetofassassinationbid ■ PAGE 12 MBA (Hospital and Health Management) MBA (Pharmaceutical Management) MBA (Healthcare Analytics) MBA (Development Management) Master of Public Health Master of Public Health Telecom networks face intensified zero-day vulnerability hunting via AI tools Banking grabbed headlines, but other sectors face equal cyber exposure US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said on Sunday Iran could call if it wanted to negotiate an end to the war launched by the US and Israel, as Iran's foreign minister returned to Pakistan for talks despite the absence of US counterparts, reports Reuters. Hopes of reviving peace efforts had earlier receded after Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi continued to shuttle between mediating countries. Weather causes localised damages to wheat crop AMID CONCERNS THAT the standing wheat crop might have suffered significant damage from unseasonal rains and hailstorms, the food ministry stated on Sunday that the adverse effects of these weather anomalies could be partially compensated, reports Sandip Das. ■ PAGE 2 MIXED SIGNALS 102 COMMERCE MINISTER Piyush Goyal has called a meeting of exporters on Monday as they start a fresh year, to take stock of current trends in international trade and the outlook for coming months, reports FE Bureau. Early birds: Strong profits, soft sales -389 GOVTMULLS NEW STRATEGY FOR EXPORT PUSH 234 PAGE 2 -65 ECONOMY MARGINS EXPAND,DEMAND STAYS UNEVEN FY26 IN THE NEWS Top B Schools in India Times B School Ranking Survey 2026 ■ BRANDWAGON, P9 Facing the heat Pond’s sunscreen campaign received much praise but also raised questions ■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P10 Keep 20% of NPS corpus in annuity for baseline income Make annual lump sum withdrawals from remainder CHENNAI/KOCHI President DonaldTrump (left) is seated on stage as US Secret Service agents respond to take him from the ballroom after a shooting incident inWashington AP