TCS Q2 Net Climbs 8.4% To Rs 6,586 Cr; Shares Down 2% 

Mumbai: The country's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday reported an 8.4 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,586 crore for the second quarter ended September 30 and said uncertainties in environment had resulted in holdbacks in discretionary spend by customers. TCS had posted a net profit of about Rs 6,073 crore in the year-ago period. The consolidated revenue grew nearly eight per cent to Rs 29,284 crore for the said quarter as against Rs 27,165 crore in July-September 2015, the Mumbai-based firm said in a BSE filing. The figures are as per Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS).

TCS CEO and Managing Director N Chandrasekaran termed the second quarter as an unusual one for the company. Growing uncertainties in the environment are creating caution among customers and resulted in holdbacks in discretionary spending this quarter. In addition, volatility in markets like India and Latin America also muted revenue growth.

TCS CEO and Managing Director N Chandrasekaran termed the second quarter as an unusual one for the company. Growing uncertainties in the environment are creating caution among customers and resulted in holdbacks in discretionary spending this quarter. In addition, volatility in markets like India and Latin America also muted revenue growth, Chandrasekaran added.

He said the quarter was good from a profitability perspective where despite multiple headwinds, our disciplined approach and focus on operations have helped us deliver a strong margin performance.

"With technology increasingly at the forefront of business, we are confident that this is temporary. Over 180,000 TCSers are now trained with significant expertise in new digital technologies," he said.

Compared with April-June 2016, the company's net profit was up 4.3 per cent, but revenue declined marginally in the said quarter, which is considered to be a strong one for the industry. During the second quarter, growth was led by life sciences and healthcare, which grew at 4.7 per cent sequentially in constant currency, followed by energy and utilities (up 3.6 per cent. Europe saw strong growth at 3.7 per cent and Asia-Pacific at 3.5 per cent sequentially in constant currency while North America grew 1.4 per cent sequentially and the UK was flat.

India declined by 7.6 per cent sequentially while Latin America also continued to show volatility, TCS said. The company announced a total dividend of Rs 6.5 a share. TCS added 22,665 employees on a gross basis and 9,440 net employees, taking its total headcount to 3.71 lakh as of September 30, 2016.

Cautious investors also focused on the September-quarter earnings season with TCS reporting after market hours on Thursday. Shares of TCS retreated 2.17 per cent, to Rs 2,328.50, but Infosys was up 2.19 per cent at Rs 1,052.05. The company is scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings on Friday.

Source: PTI