L&T Infotech's PBT rises 16.9% to Rs 558.9 cr in Q1, revenue up 18.7%

Mid-size IT services firm Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) reported a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 558.9 crore, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while it remained flat on sequential basis, the company said in an exchange filing. The net profit for the quarter ended June 2020 (Q1FY21) rose 17.1 per cent year-on-year to Rs 416.4 crore on account of lower operating expenses. It, however, fell 2.6 per cent on a sequential basis.
 

Revenue of the Mumbai-headquartered IT services firm rose 18.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,949.2 crore during this period. The revenue, too, declined 2.1 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
 

Revenues were at $390.3 million, a 4.7 per cent fall in constant currency terms on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Operating margin of the Larsen & Toubro group company expanded 90 basis points sequentially to 20.1 per cent in the three-month period.  The mid-tier IT firm has won one large deal in the first quarter, it said.
 

"In a quarter marked by a challenging environment, we have delivered revenue growth of 10.6 per cent (YoY) in constant currency. We remain committed to exceeding client expectations in the face of this unprecedented pandemic while prioritizing the health and well-being of our people,” said Sanjay Jalona, CEO & managing director, LTI.
 

The company saw its headcount remain flat at 31,477 employees on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The attrition rate also dropped 130 basis points to 15.2 per cent during the quarter.

The numbers were largely in line with Street expectations with a beat on the profit front. Brokerage firm IDBI Capital pegged the profit at Rs 376 crore for the quarter while revenue was seen at Rs 2,964.9 crore.

This comes as its larger IT peers signalled uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 outbreak has bottomed out. TCS said it may see break-even and reach pre-pandemic revenue levels (in rupee terms) from the December quarter. Infosys forecasts constant currency growth in revenue of 0-2 per cent in FY21.