Mumbai, July 10: Global software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday reported Rs 7,340 crore consolidated net profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2018-19, registering 23.5 per cent annual and 6.3 per cent sequential growth.

In a regulatory filing on the BSE, the city-based IT firm said consolidated revenue for the quarter (Q1) under review grew 15.8 per cent annually and 6.8 per cent quarterly to Rs 34,261 crore.

Under the International Financial Reporting Standard, net income grew 17.2 per cent year-on-year to $1.1 billion and revenue 10 per cent to $5.1 billion for the first quarter.

"Revenue from North America market grew highest in the last 12 quarters or three years by 7 per cent annually and 3.7 per cent quarterly on recover from banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and retail," said TCS in a statement here.

Operating margin remained flat at 25 per cent as in the previous quarter (25.4 per cent).

"Digital business contributed 25 per cent to the overall revenue and grew a whopping 44.8 per cent YoY," it added.

The company added 2 new clients in $100 million billing rate and 13 clients in $5 million band sequentially.

"We have started the new fiscal year on a strong note, with the growth engine firing on all cylinders. We had good wins, a robust pipeline and accelerating digital demand," said TCS Chief Executive Rajesh Gopinathan in the statement.

Noting that customers across verticals and markets were embracing the company's Business 4.0 thought-leadership framework, he said contextual knowledge, full spectrum capabilities and investments in research and innovation were making TCS their preferred partner for growth and transformation initiatives.

TCS Chief Operating Officer N. Ganapathy Subramaniam said the year's first quarter was excellent due to growth across segments and client additions.

"We are seeing strong demand in cloud transformation, cyber-security, data privacy and automation. Our investments in Machine First Delivery Model and Location-independent Agile are giving customers business benefits and speed to market," he said.

TCS Chief Financial Officer V. Ramakrishnan said disciplined execution, accelerating growth and currency support helped the company mitigate the impact of wage increases during the quarter.

"A strong quarterly start gives us confidence in our ability to get our operating margin to our preferred range, while continuing to fund the digital investments," he said.

The company applied for 3,978 patents, including 62 during the quarter, and was granted 715.

Its headcount crossed the 4 lakh mark and touched 400,875 on consolidated basis. Women accounted for 35.6 per cent.

The IT services attrition rate fell 0.1 per cent to 10.9 per cent, while the total attrition rate, including business processing services fell to 11.7 per cent.

"We continue to invest in upgrading the skills of our employees while leveraging their contextual knowledge and domain experience," said Human Resources global head Ajoy Mukherjee.

The twin strategy has resulted in a dynamic workplace and a strong digital solutioning capability to deliver differentiated outcomes for its global customers.

The company's blue-scrip of Rupee 1 face value ended at Rs 1,877 per share at the end of Tuesday's trading on the BSE, losing Rs 10.65 from Monday's closing price of Rs 1,887.65 and opening at Rs 1,895.20.

The scrip also touched a high of Rs 1,900 and a low of Rs 1,872 during the intra-day trading session on the bourses.



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Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.

Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.

The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.

On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.

Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.

India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.

The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.

Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.