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India's largest IT services firm TCS on Thursday reported a 4.99 per cent increase in September quarter net profit at Rs 11,909 crore, held back by a narrowing of profit margin.
The Tata Group company had reported a net profit of Rs 11,342 crore in the year-ago period, while in the preceding June quarter, it had a post-tax net profit of Rs 12,040 crore.
Tata Consultancy Services' revenues rose 7.06 per cent to Rs 64,988 crore from Rs 60,698 crore in the year-ago period, and were marginally higher compared to Rs 63,575 crore in the June quarter.
Its operating profit margin narrowed to 24.1 per cent, down 0.2 per cent over the year-ago period and 0.6 per cent from the April-June quarter.
The company's overall employee base increased by 5,726 to 612,724 staffers, and the overall addition in the first half of the current fiscal on a net basis came at over 11,000.
"We saw the cautious trends of the last few quarters continue to play out in this quarter as well," its chief executive and managing director K Krithivasan said in a statement.
He said the largest banking, financial services and insurance verticals showed signs of recovery during the quarter with a 0.1 per cent growth in revenues when compared to the year-ago period. Additionally, the rate cut by the US Fed will also help.
Manufacturing, which accounts for less than 9 per cent of the revenues, was among the fastest growing at 5.3 per cent.
The CEO attributed the impact on manufacturing to supply chain constraints and added that the trouble will be short-term.
The company reported new deal wins of USD 8.6 billion during the quarter, and the CEO said that there has been no change in the demand environment.
Krithivasan said the company is happy to get the new deal signings between $7-9 billion, and the number may go up if there is a mega deal.
He, however, said that given the current geopolitical tensions, deal conversations are stretching longer than what they did in the first quarter.
Chief financial officer Sameer Seksaria said spends on talent and infrastructure were one of the reasons for the dip in the margins, and added that there was a benefit coming from currency movements during the quarter.
The company would be happy to exit FY25-26 per cent operating profit margin, which is the lower end of its 26-28 per cent margin band, Seksaria said.
From a markets perspective, the mainstay North America showed a 2.1 per cent decline in its topline contribution, while India grew the fastest at 95.2 per cent.
Its chief financial officer Samir Seksaria said it made strategic investments in talent and infrastructure during the quarter.
The company's chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad said it is on track on trainee onboarding as planned and has also started campus hiring process for FY26.
On the generative artificial intelligence front, the number of engagements has more than doubled to 600, and the pipeline of deals is also very strong, Krithivasan said.
Meanwhile, at a board meeting held on Thursday, the directors have declared a second interim dividend of Rs 10 per equity share of Rs 1 each of the company.
Analysts at domestic brokerage Sharekhan said the company's numbers are weaker than expected.
The TCS scrip closed 0.56 per cent down at Rs 4,228.40 a piece on the BSE on Thursday as against gain of 0.18 per cent on the 30-share benchmark index Sensex.