Indian IT's Big-4 build $8 bn cash chest

Maintain a strong cash balance despite sluggish overall business trends for the entire sector

The country's four top IT firms -- TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies -- have seen their combined cash chest swell to a whopping $8 billion (Rs 43,200 crore), even as the overall business trends remain sluggish for the entire sector.

While TCS and HCL Tech managed to post strong financial numbers for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, the results were mostly disappointing from Infosys and Wipro.

However, all the four companies have maintained a strong cash balance as on March 31, 2013.

Tata group's IT arm, N Chandrasekaran-led TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) closed the latest fiscal with total cash and cash equivalents of $1.24 billion with an increase of $100 million during the year ended March 31, 2013.

Its closest rival, S D Shibulal-led Infosys also saw its cash balance soar by $300 million to a humongous $4.34 billion at the end of fiscal year 2012-13.

Azim Premji-led Wipro, which posted slowest sequential growth in revenues in the quarter ended March 31 among the four companies, also managed to end the fiscal with cash and cash equivalents of $1.56 billion.

HCL Technologies, the country's fourth largest IT firm, ended January-March quarter with cash and cash equivalents, (including deposits) of $762 million, a sharp rise from $398 million at the end of March, 2012.

TCS has posted annual revenue of more than Rs 50,000 crore for 2012-13, as against about Rs 39,000 crore of Infosys and Wipro's Rs 34,500 crore.

HCL Tech follows a financial year of July-June and its total income in the last fiscal ended July 30, 2012 stood at about Rs 9,000 crore. In the quarter ended March 31, 2013 -- the third quarter of the current fiscal 2012-13, it posted total income of over Rs 3,000 crore.