HCL net up 19% in Q3

New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) Software major HCL Technologies on Tuesday reported Rs 2,611 crore consolidated net profit for the quarter (Q3) of fiscal 2018-19, registering 19 per cent annual growth from Rs 2,194 crore for the same period a year ago.

In a regulatory filing on the BSE, the Noida-based IT firm said consolidated revenue for the quarter under review (Q3) grew 22.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 15,699 crore from Rs 12,808 crore in the like period a year ago.

Sequentially, net profit rose 2.8 per cent in Q3 from Rs 2,540 crore and revenue 5.6 per cent from Rs 14,861 crore a quarter ago.

Under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), net income rose 7 per cent YoY to $364 million from $340 million a year ago and revenue 10.8 per cent YoY to $2,202 million from $1,988 million a year ago.

Sequentially, net income grew marginally 2.1 per cent in Q3 from $357 million and gross revenue 4.9 per cent from $2,099 million.

Earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) grew 23 per cent YoY to Rs 3,086 crore in Q3 from Rs 2,510 crore a year ago and 4 per cent sequentially from Rs 2,966 crore a quarter ago.

In dollar terms, Ebit rose 10.6 per cent YoY to $431 million in bQ3 from $389 million a year ago and 3.1 per cent sequentially from $418 million.

The growth was driven by services across verticals and geographies, with 17 deals in the quarter spanning services, technology and manufacturing.

All geographies reported double-digit growth: America 12.9 per cent, Europe 14.5 per cent and rest of world excluding India 12.1 per cent.

The company's board recommended a dividend of Rs 2 or 100 per cent per share of Rs 2 face value.

Consolidated revenue for the fiscal (FY 2019) is expected to grow 9.5-11.5 per cent in constant currency, which translates to 7.9-9.9 per cent in dollar terms based on December 31 exchange rate.

"Operating Margin (Ebit) range is expected to be 19.5-20.5 per cent," said the company in a statement.

"Digital and technology innovations are causing disruptions to traditional models of business as in all aspects of our lives. Leveraging these innovations to enhance society's potential and create solutions for its problems has been our guiding philosophy," said HCL Chairman Shiv Nadar in the statement.

Aided by a strong push on next-generation business, the outsourcing firm delivers value to its stakeholders and supports sustainability, diversity and inclusion for industry.

Chief Executive C. Vijyakumar said the company had crossed $1.5 billion run rate in next-generation offerings, with 5.6 per cent sequential revenue growth, which reflects strong execution across services and products.

"We once again set a new bookings' record this quarter. We are entering 2019 with a healthy growth outlook backed by the relevance of our propositions in the market, said Vijyakumar in a statement.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Prateek Aggarwal said Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and ammortisation exceeded $2 billion on run rate basis.

"Our Cash EPS (earnings per share) on LTM (last 12 months) basis stands at a robust 82, increasing 11.4 per cent over the previous fiscal," added Aggarwal.

The company added 45 clients YoY and 22 quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q3, taking their total to 597 from 575 a quarter ago and 552 a year ago.

"We got one new client in $100-million band, 10 in $20 million, up 10 YoY and 5 QoQ and 8 YoY in $10 million, but lost 2 clients in $50 million," said the statement.

On the hiring front, the company added 13,191 techies in Q3 as against 11,683 a quarter ago and 7,113 a year ago, taking the total headcount to 132,328 at the end of Q3 as against 127,875 a quarter ago and 11,929 a year ago.

The company's blue chip scrip gained Rs 12.15 per share of Rs 2 face value on the BSE at the end of trading on Tuesday to close at Rs 988.10 from Monday's ending rate of 975.95 and opening price of Rs 976.10.

The shares also traded at a high of Rs 995 and a low of Rs 962 during the intra-trading sessions.