HCL net up 19% to 2,611 cr in Q3

Noida-based IT major HCL Technologies on Tuesday reported a net profit of Rs 2,611 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, up 19% from Rs 2,194 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

On a sequential quarter basis, the company's net profits, however, jumped by a meagre 2.8% from Rs 2,540 crore in September quarter.

HCL clocked Rs 15,699 crore revenues during the quarter, a growth of 22.6% from Rs 12,808 crore recorded in the corresponding period last year.

However, the margins saw a dip during the quarter. The EBIT margin of the company declined by 40 basis points during the quarter and stood at 23.1%.
Americas contributed 64.4% to the revenues of the company, while Europe made up 28.2% of the company’s topline.

On the other hand, the top 20 clients contributed to 34.1% of the company’s revenues.

“Our revenues grew 5.6% sequentially in constant currency, reflecting strong execution across our entire suite of services & products. We crossed $1.5 billion run rate in our Mode 2 next-generation offerings. We once again set a new bookings’ record this quarter. We are entering 2019 with a healthy growth outlook backed by the strong relevance of our propositions in the market,” C Vijayakumar, President, and CEO of the tech major said.

During the second quarter of the current financial year, HCL had dislodged Wipro from its long-held third slot in India’s IT space.

On the human resources front, the company saw a slight increase in its attrition level to 17.8%, during the third quarter. However, the attritions seem to have been compensated by the hiring of fresh talent. During the quarter, the company hired 13,191 new professionals, thereby increasing its headcount to 132,328 people.

Meanwhile, HCL’s shares closed 1.24% up on BSE at Rs 988.10 per share.

Market analysts seem to be happy with the company's performance in the quarter. "Improving organic revenue plus a potentially strong exit rate in 4QFY19 point to a good FY20E. The IT major won 17 large deals led by Financial Services, Technology, and MFG, while good traction continues in Mode 2 services including Digital, Analytics, Cloud, IoT, and Cybersecurity," said Harit Shah, Senior Analyst, Reliance Securities.