TCS biggest wealth creator, RIL biggest destroyer: study

For the third year running, software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) emerged as India's biggest wealth creator in the past five years, while Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) and Reliance Industries topped the list of companies where investors lost the most, says a study.

According to a wealth creation study conducted by financial services company Motilal Oswal, TCS created wealth worth Rs345,800 crore for the period 2010-15, followed by ITC  (Rs156,500 crore) and HDFC Bank (Rs154,000 crore).

Wealth creation is the process by which a company enhances the market value of the capital entrusted to it by its shareholders, the study said.

"TCS has emerged as the biggest wealth creator for the period 2010-15, retaining the top spot it held even in the previous two study periods (2009-14 and 2008-13)," the study said.

Other companies in the top 10 list are Sun Pharmaceuticals (4th), Hindustan Unilever (5th), HCL Technologies (6th), HDFC (7th), Tata Motors (8th), Infosys (9th) and Axis Bank (10th).

Drugmaker Ajanta Pharmaceuticals emerged as the "fastest" wealth creator for 2010-15, while Titan Company was "the most consistent" for generating wealth for its shareholders.

As per the study, the "top 10 wealth destroyers" during 2010-15 are MMTC, Reliance Industries, SAIL, NMDC, BHEL, Jindal Steel, NTPC, Hindustan Copper, Vedanta and Tata Steel.

Together, these companies destroyed wealth worth Rs649,400 crore during the past five years. "The total wealth destroyed during 2010-15 is Rs1,460,000 crore, 43 per cent of the total wealth created by top 100 companies," the study said, adding this "is a significant jump from the previous five-year period".

Eight of the top 10 wealth destroying companies are engaged in the global commodity business. The only exceptions are BHEL and NTPC, both public sector undertakings. Further, six of the top 10 wealth destroyers are public sector companies, the study said.

Sector-wise, consumer/retail ranked as India's biggest wealth creating industry over 2010-2015, followed by financials and technology sectors.

The study ranked top 100 companies in terms of wealth creation. It considered wealth created as the difference in market capitalisation over a period of last five years, after adjusting for equity dilution.