Standalone vs consolidated results: what the difference means

Many Indian listed companies publish two versions of their results: standalone and consolidated. They can differ a lot, and using the wrong one is a common mistake.

The difference

• Standalone results cover the listed company alone. Income and costs of its subsidiaries are not included.
• Consolidated results combine the parent with its subsidiaries, as if the group were one business. They also include the parent’s share of profit or loss from joint ventures and associates.

For a listed company that has subsidiaries, SEBI’s rules require it to submit both. A company with no subsidiaries publishes standalone results only.

A simplified example

A fictional group has a parent and one subsidiary. The parent sells 100 of goods to the subsidiary. That 100 is revenue for the parent but not real revenue for the group, so consolidation removes it. Numbers below are illustrative (₹ crore):

	Parent (standalone)	Subsidiary	Adjustment	Consolidated
Revenue	700	400	−100 (sales between them)	1,000
Profit	90	40	share of joint venture +5	135

Real consolidation involves more adjustments than shown here, such as minority shareholders’ portion of a subsidiary’s profit, but the idea is the same: the group’s figure is not simply the sum of the parts.

Why both are published

• Consolidated shows the economic size of the whole group, which is what the parent’s shareholders ultimately own.
• Standalone shows the listed company itself. It matters, for example, for what the parent can pay out as dividend.

For a company whose business sits mostly in subsidiaries, the two sets can be very different. For a company that is almost entirely one entity, they are close.

How to compare correctly

1. Check which one an article or table shows. Reputable summaries state it in the first sentence, and so do the articles on this site.
2. Compare like with like. Consolidated this quarter against consolidated last year; never standalone against consolidated.
3. Watch for changes in the group. An acquisition or disposal changes the consolidated numbers for reasons that are not organic growth.
4. Look at the note on the basis. A statement will list the entities included. In one recent example, a consolidated statement lists the parent together with a jointly controlled entity.

Which one to read first

There is no single answer. Most analysis of a group starts with consolidated results, and reads the standalone statement to see the parent on its own. Both are on the company’s website, and the auditor’s report on each says which entities it covers.

Related: how to read a quarterly result and the complete guide.