While the broader market was busy complaining about fewer DEMAT accounts and muted trading volumes, NSDL quietly did what Indian monopolies do best—eat someone else’s lunch. Industry DEMAT additions fell off a cliff (down ~40%), but NSDL walked in with a smug smile and walked out with 770 bps of incremental market share.
Cash market volumes slowed, retail enthusiasm cooled, and festivals apparently shut down October—but NSDL still printed double-digit growth, flexed its tech muscles, and reminded everyone why infrastructure businesses age like fine wine.
The management kept things polite, regulators-friendly, and jargon-heavy—but underneath the calm tone was a clear message: we’re gaining share even when the party’s over.
Read on, because behind the boring word “custody fees” lies the real money machine—and it’s just getting warmed up.
2. At a Glance
Standalone Revenue up 18.9% – Industry slows, NSDL ignores the memo.
PAT up 18.3% YoY – Consistency so boring it’s impressive.
EBITDA margin at 64.1% – Monopoly economics doing monopoly things.
Incremental DEMAT share at 17.6% – From 9.9% last year; someone’s losing sleep.
Industry DEMAT additions down ~39% – NSDL still crossed 4 crore accounts.
Consolidated PAT up 14.7% – Subsidiaries finally earning their keep.
3. Management’s Key Commentary
“The industry saw a degrowth of almost 40% in incremental DEMAT accounts.” (Everyone slowed down. We didn’t.) 😏
“Our incremental market share stood at 17.6%, a sharp rise from 9.9% last year.” (Competitors blinked. We didn’t.)
“Unlisted issuer equity market share strengthened to 73%.” (If it’s unlisted, it probably lives with us.)
“Technology resilience and cybersecurity remain our top priorities.” (Yes, costs are rising—and no, we’re not apologizing.)
“We onboarded over 11,500 companies this quarter.” (Custody fees don’t grow themselves.)
“NSDL Payments Bank crossed 3 million customers and ₹400 crore deposits.” (The ‘side hustle’ is now paying rent.)
“We see strong tailwinds from domestic participation.” (SIPs are the real oil wells.)
4. Numbers Decoded
Metric
Q2 FY26
YoY
What It Really Means
Standalone Income
₹250.6 cr
+18.9%
Boring, predictable compounding
Standalone PAT
₹120.4 cr
+18.3%
High-margin machine intact
EBITDA Margin
64.1%
Stable
Infrastructure flex
Consolidated Income
₹432.2 cr
+12.2%
Subsidiaries adding colour
Consolidated PAT
₹110.3 cr
+14.7%
Less dividend noise
H1 FY26 PAT
₹200 cr
+14.9%
Half-year already chunky
Custody + DLT fees quietly becoming the annuity engine.
5. Analyst Questions (Decoded)
Q: Why did custody fees jump sharply? A: Unlisted companies + DLT fees + more folios = ka-ching.
