Sales growth of listed private non-financial companies returned to double digits in the financial year 2025-26, after remaining in the single digits for the last two years, aided by growth in the manufacturing sector, according to the Reserve Bank of India. At the aggregate level during 2025-26, listed private non-financial companies recorded a sales growth of 10.1 per cent, the RBI said. Sales of manufacturing sector companies expanded by 10.8 per cent during 2025-26 compared to 6.0 per cent growth in the preceding year, mainly led by the automobiles, electrical machinery, food & beverages and chemicals industries, the RBI said in a release. On the other hand, the petroleum industry continued to record a contraction in sales during 2025-26, the release added. Sales growth for IT companies inched up to 7.9 per cent during 2025-26 from 7.1 per cent in the previous year. Non-IT services companies continued to record double-digit sales growth during 2025-26, led by healthy performance in the wholesale and retail sectors. Raw material expenses for manufacturing companies rose by 12.0 per cent during 2025-26; the raw material-to-sales ratio increased to 57.6 per cent in 2025-26 from 55.7 per cent a year ago, pointing to input cost pressure, the RBI said. Staff cost rose by 10.7 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 9 per cent during 2025-26 for manufacturing, IT and non-IT services companies, respectively; staff cost-to-sales ratio broadly remained stable for manufacturing companies while it declined for services companies, it added.