HCL Tech Q2 net profit rises 8.6%; FY18 revenue outlook intact

Software firm HCL Technologies today posted 8.6 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for September quarter to Rs 2,188 crore while maintaining its revenue growth forecast for the full fiscal.
The company, which competes with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro in the IT services market, has kept its revenue growth outlook for 2017-18 unchanged at 10.5 to 12.5 per cent in constant currency terms.
The revenue stood at Rs 12,434 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2017, a 7.9 per cent increase over corresponding period previous year.
The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per equity share of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2017-18, the company said in a BSE filing.

The payment date of the interim dividend is November 9, it added.
Broad-based growth was seen across verticals driven by manufacturing (at 22.3 per cent), financial services (15.4 per cent), and public services (14.5 per cent), amongst others in constant currency terms, the company said in a statement.

"This quarter marks the end of H1 (first half) of FY18 which has seen us deliver a strong broadbased growth acrossbusinesses," HCL Technologies President and CEO C Vijayakumar said.
Strong client addition continued, the company said, adding that on a year-on-year basis it added 24 clients in over USD 5 million bracket, 11 in over USD 10 million bracket, 2 clients in over USD 20 million bracket, 3 and 5 clients in USD 40 million and USD 50 million band, respectively and 1 client in USD 100 million band.

"Our top 20 customers have grown faster than the company average, reflecting the strong performance of ourclient partner programme," Vijayakumar added.
In dollar terms, the net profit came in at USD 339 million for July-September, up 0.7 per cent sequentially and 12.6 per cent over same period previous year.
The dollar revenue atUSD 1,928 million was 2.3 per cent higher sequentially and 11.9 per cent increase over the year- ago period.
"FY'18 revenues are expected to grow between 10.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent in constant currency...The...constant currency guidance translates to 12.1 per cent to 14.1 per cent in dollar terms based on 30 September, 2017 rates," the statement said.

The earnings from the tech giants has been a mixed bag this quarter. Infosys, India's second-largest software services exporter, on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected 3.3 per cent rise in the second quarter net profit to Rs 3,726 crore but slashed annual revenue forecast.
Tata Consultancy Services has reported a 2.1 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 6,446 crore for the just concluded quarter, while smaller rival Wipro Ltd posted a 5.8 per cent rise in net profit but gave a muted guidance for the third quarter earnings.
The shares of HCL Tech ended 0.71 per cent lower at Rs 907 a piece on BSE.