Operating margin

Operating profit divided by revenue. The purest income-statement measure of trading performance, because it sits above financing and tax.

The exporter at ₹960 crore on ₹4,800 crore runs 20%.

Where it moves matters more than where it sits. A margin that falls while gross margin holds points at overheads or advertising; a margin that falls with gross margin points at pricing or input costs. Those are different problems with different half-lives, and the two ratios read together localise it in a minute.

Sector norms vary enormously, so cross-sector comparison is meaningless. Indian information technology services cluster in the low twenties, commodity processors in the mid single digits, and neither is better than the other.

Read the direction, then find the cause.