Tata Consultancy Services Limited (NSE:TCS) (BOM:532540) posted better-than-expected fourth quarter results as the company’s revenues grew 24 percent and earnings rose 22 percent from the same period a year ago. The Mumbai-based IT giant said that its full year revenue growth will be far better than the Indian IT and outsourcing industry estimates.
For the January-March quarter, the India’s largest software exporter’s revenues rose 24 percent to 164.30 billion rupees ($3.04 billion) while net profits surged 22 percent to 35.97 billion rupees ($666 million). Analysts were expecting 164.00 billion rupees in revenues with a profit of 35.77 billion rupees.
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (NSE:TCS) (BOM:532540)’s operating margins declined from 27.3 percent in Q3 to 26.5 percent in Q4, primarily due to a one-time payment of $30 million to settle a U.S class-action lawsuit.
The company plans to recruit 45,000 new employees this fiscal year (April 2013-March 2014). TCS also hiked salaries of its staff, indicating that the company expects solid growth momentum. Its earnings were in stark contrast with its arch-rival Bangalore-based Infosys Ltd (NYSE:INFY) (NSE:INFY) (BOM:500209) that missed Wall Street estimates on all counts, and forecast a revenue growth of just 6-10 percent in FY14.
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (NSE:TCS) (BOM:532540) CEO N. Chandrasekaran said that the company’s growth will outpace industry forecast of 12-14 percent this year, and will be better than its own growth last year. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (NSE:TCS) (BOM:532540) revenues increased 14 percent last year to $12 billion. Indian IT companies depend heavily on Western markets for orders, and a tough macroeconomic environment has affected their growth.
But TCS has been consistently outperforming its rivals despite turbulent macroeconomic climate. The company has been able to grow because it is flexible on pricing and highly aggressive on acquisitions.
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (NSE:TCS) (BOM:532540) chief financial officer Rajesh Gopinathan, said that the company sees strong growth ahead, and will be able to maintain the profit margin of 27 percent in the current year. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (NSE:TCS) (BOM:532540) shares were down 1.73 percent to 1,459.20 rupees at the close of Bombay Stock Exchange.
