Goutam Das
It beat Street
expectations for the third quarter ended December 2012 with a strong set of numbers. But for the first time in many quarters, Tata Consultance Services (TCS), India's largest software exporter, trailed
Infosys in growth measured in dollars.
On Monday, January 14, TCS reported a net profit of Rs 3,552 crore, an increase of 23 per cent over the year-ago quarter and 1.1 per cent sequentially. Operating margins rose 51 basis points to 27.3 per cent, offsetting the impact of forex fluctuations with a boost in employee productivity.
In dollar terms, revenues jumped 3.3 per cent to $2,948 million over the September quarter. In contrast, Infosys,
reported revenue growth of 4.2 per cent.
Infosys also beat TCS is volume growth.
While TCS reported growth of 1.25 per cent in the December quarter, Infosys grew 1.5 per cent, excluding the acquisition of Lodestone.
The comparison, however, is a tad unfair considering
TCS's higher revenue base - Infosys's revenues during the December quarter, excluding Lodestone, were at $1,872 million, more than a billion dollars lower than TCS.
The TCS management appeared confident about continuing its consistent topline performance going forward, and said that 2013/14 could, in fact, be a better year than the current fiscal year.
"The third quarter was a strong quarter and we saw well-rounded growth. Deal closures were very good and the current deal pipeline is strong. While continental Europe was soft, we had good growth from the United States, United Kingdom and Asia. We are confident as we go into the future," said CEO and MD N. Chandrasekaran during a press conference in Mumbai.
Sanjeev Hota, an analyst with brokerage house Sharekhan, said that TCS's performance was broadly in line with his expectations. "The highlight was the company's margin performance, commendable because there was no currency benefit," he said.
Ahead of the results,
TCS shares ended the day at 1,334.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, having risen 2.14 per cent.
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