Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's leading software exporter, has reported a 7.70 percent rise in net profit (adjusted for special one-time bonus) for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2015. The company has earned Rs. 57.73 billion, or Rs. 29.47 a share in the quarter, compared with Rs. 53.58 billion, or Rs. 27.27 a share for the same period last year. On sequential basis, net income rose 8.40 percent from Rs 53.28 million for the December quarter.
Revenue during the quarter grew 12.40 percent to Rs. 242.20 billion from Rs. 215.51 billion in the previous year period. However, on sequential basis, revenue declined 1.10 percent from Rs 245.01 billion for the previous quarter.
Adjusted net profit excluded special one-time bonus of Rs 26.28 billion, which the company will pay to its employees, to mark the 10th anniversary of the company's initial public offering in 2004.
Including the impact of special one-time bonus, the company's net profit fell 30.70% on y-o-y basis to Rs 37.13 billion for the fourth quarter. On the sequential basis, the profit decreased 30.31% from Rs 53.28 billion for the December quarter.
Total expenses were 71.47 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 70.70 percent for the same period last year. This has led to a contraction of 77 basis points in operating margin to 28.53 percent. Adjusted operating income for the quarter was Rs. 69.09 billion, compared with an operating income of Rs. 63.14 billion in the previous year period.
Rajesh Gopinathan, chief financial officer, said, 'We have maintained our profitability in a challenging operating environment, where currency has been a strong headwind for some time. Despite these and other macro challenges, our goal has been to support business growth while ensuring we continue to invest in a calibrated fashion for the future.'
Commenting on the TCS results, Sarabjit Kour Nangra (VP Research - IT, Angel Broking said, 'TCS announced lower than expected numbers on sales front, while net profit came in higher than expected.'
While Reliance Securities said, 'TCS posted results largely in-line with our estimates, however a tad better on operating margin.'
Commenting on outlook for fiscal 2016, N. Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD said, 'We have laid a strong foundation for growth in FY16. Our investments in platforms, digital and automation are gaining traction with clients and together with our market investments in USA, Europe and Japan, we are upbeat that the coming quarters will bring more opportunities to partner with customers accross multiple industries. We remain focused on remaining relevant to our customers, our employees and the community.'
The company has added 14,395 employees during the quarter on a gross basis and 1,031 employees on a net basis. Attrition rate was at 14.90 percent and utilization rate was 81.50 percent.
As of Mar. 31, 2015, the company has applied for 2,277 patents including 173 applied during the quarter. Till date, the company has been granted 206 patents.
Shares of the company declined Rs 39.5, or 1.5%, to settle at Rs 2,585.20. The total volume of shares traded was 115,355 at the BSE (Thursday).
