HCL Tech profit surges 33% on new markets

HCL Technologies on Wednesday reported a robust 33% rise in its net profit for the January-March quarter, well above market expectations, which helped allay concerns about the health of the Indian IT sector that were flagged when Infosys last Friday gave a weak revenue guidance for the current fiscal.

HCL Technologies on Wednesday reported a robust 33% rise in its net profit for the January-March quarter, well above market expectations, which helped allay concerns about the health of the Indian IT sector that were flagged when Infosys last Friday gave a weak revenue guidance for the current fiscal.

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The net profits of HCL Technologies stood at Rs 468 crore against Rs 350 crore during the same period of last fiscal. Total revenues of the company stood at Rs 4,138 crore against the Rs 3,132 crore registered during the same period of last fiscal, which is up by 31.5%.

Interestingly, the stellar performance of the company comes on the back of high revenues from non-traditional emerging markets. In fact, revenues from rest of the world - other than US and Europe - grew by 80% during the quarter.

"Continental Europe and emerging markets such as Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa will continue to be the growth engines for us in the medium term," Vineet Nayar, vice chairman and CEO of HCL Technologies told HT. Nayar, however, clarified that the company is not shifting its business focus to emerging markets rather it the company is reaping rewards for its earlier investments in these markets. "HCL's focus on forward investment in key markets and transformation services is paying rich dividends."

The company added a total of 1,153 employees during the period taking the total headcount to 73,420. HCL also said that it bought certain software assets of Citibank International for a total consideration of $26 million (Rs 117 cr).

HCL Technologies' shares touched a 52-week high at R525.95 earlier in the day. Its stock closed at Rs 522.85 a piece, up 9.93% from its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday.