MCX posts record ₹1,332 crore profit as gold volatility & surging retail participation drive platform to new highs

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) closed FY26 with total revenue of ₹2,429 crore and profit after tax of ₹1,332 crore, capping a year of broad-based growth with a standout final quarter that saw revenue and EBITDA surge nearly 35% year-on-year. In an interview with ET Now, MD & CEO Praveena Rai broke down what drove the numbers — and where MCX is headed next.

The headline number that matters most: 2.5x growth in daily throughput

Revenue and profit doubled. But Rai pointed to a more telling metric: average daily throughput (ADT) grew 2.5 times over the year, reaching approximately ₹5.4 trillion per day. That figure measures how intensively the platform is actually being used — and a 2.5x jump signals that MCX is not just riding market tailwinds but gaining genuine depth and liquidity across its product base.

Futures revenue spiked 136% in Q4, while options revenue rose 109%. Rai was measured but confident about sustainability, noting that futures are the foundational product — all options on MCX devolve into futures — so strength in futures liquidity signals platform resilience, not a one-off surge.

Global volatility turned into MCX's biggest tailwind

The macro backdrop of FY26 — wild swings in gold, a global silver shortage, geopolitical uncertainty, and commodity price shocks — drove record hedging activity across MCX's platform. Energy, bullion, and metals all delivered strong growth. Bullion in particular, which Rai described as "outperforming itself," emerged as a second major pillar alongside energy.

MCX is also quietly building something more strategic: establishing the MCX price as India's own commodity benchmark, reducing dependence on global price signals. A significant endorsement came at year-end when SEBI asked mutual funds and AMCs to start referencing exchange-derived prices for bullion — a move that strengthens MCX's pricing authority across the industry. Bullion dealers and jewellers across the country already use MCX prices as a reference point.

Retail investors are piling in; client base jumped from 13 lakh to 21 lakh

Perhaps the most striking data point in the results is the growth in traded clients — from 13 lakh in FY25 to nearly 21 lakh in FY26, a jump of over 60% in a single year. Rai attributed this to growing retail interest in commodities as an asset class, with investors actively seeking to open accounts and participate. Compared to equity market participation, commodity investing in India is still a small fraction — which means the runway ahead is long.

A coal spot exchange is next — completing the energy portfolio

MCX recently received SEBI approval to incorporate a new coal exchange — structured as a spot platform, not a derivatives exchange. Rai framed it as the missing piece in MCX's energy portfolio, which already includes crude oil, natural gas, and an electricity base load contract launched last year.

A functional spot platform for coal is essential for healthy price discovery — and healthy price discovery is the foundation on which commodity derivatives can be built. Rai was careful to flag that the coal exchange is at an early stage with multiple steps ahead, but the direction is clear: MCX is building a comprehensive, end-to-end commodity market infrastructure for India.

The bottom line: MCX enters FY27 with record profits, a rapidly growing retail base, a strengthening price benchmark role in bullion, and a pipeline of new products that management declined to detail — but promised will be announced through the year. The platform is scaling. The participation is broadening. And the volatility that rattled global markets in FY26 may well continue to be MCX's most reliable tailwind.