Weak discretionary spend likely to weigh on IT cos' revenue in Q1

BFSI, telecom feel the pinch; Ebit margin too may shrink

Strong macroeconomic headwinds causing turbulence in the $245-billion Indian IT industry are yet to calm down. Top Indian IT services companies are likely to post a decline or just marginal growth in sequential revenue in Q1FY24 because of a soft discretionary spending environment.

Though the first quarter is seasonally strong for IT firms, “June 2023 will be an exception”, according to analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities. Revenue is likely to decline for companies like Wipro and Tech Mahindra, remain flat for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and marginally grow at 1 per cent for players like HCL Tech and Infosys.

“We believe revenue