Tech Mahindra stock hit by earnings shock; M-cap down Rs 8,730 cr

Shares of Tech Mahindra on Wednesday tumbled over 14 per cent, wiping out Rs 8,730.98 crore from its market valuation, after the company reported a 23.15 per cent fall in net profit for the March quarter.

After falling 14.91 per cent to Rs 545 in intra-day at the BSE, shares of Tech Mahindra finally ended at Rs 549.35, down 14.24 per cent from its previous close.

At the NSE, it settled at Rs 549.10, a fall of 14.23 per cent.

The stock was the biggest loser among the 50-Nifty scrips.

Led by losses in the stock, the company's market valuation plunged Rs 8,730.98 crore to Rs 52,812 crore.

"Tech Mahindra's Q4 FY 2015 revenue was weaker than expectations. The results were below expectation," brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher said in a report.

The country's fifth-largest software exporter Tech Mahindra on Tuesday said net profit fell to Rs 472 crore due to currency headwinds, poor performance of recent acquisitions and a slowdown in large telecom clients.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 614.21 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The company's pre-tax margin also saw a big 5 percentage point decline to 15.2 per cent over the December quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Milind Kulkarni said the poor show by LCC acquired last fiscal has hurt the margin by 1.40 per cent and rupee appreciation shaved 0.90 per cent off the bottom line.

The company's revenues, however, grew 20.9 per cent to Rs 6,116.79 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 5,058.11 crore in the March quarter of 2014.

Meanwhile, in the stock market the BSE benchmark Sensex ended at 27,564.66, up 33.25 points.