Nifty IT index hits new high; Wipro, Tech M, Mindtree touch record peaks

Shares of information technology (IT) companies continued their northward movement for the second day in a row, with Nifty IT index hitting a new high on Thursday, after Mindtree and L&T Technology Services (LTTS) reported strong earnings for the quarter ended June 2021 (Q1FY22). Their large-cap counterpart Infosys, too, has raised its revenue growth guidance for financial year 2021-22 (FY22) which buoyed the overall sentiment.

Nifty IT index hit a new high of 29,745 in the intra-day trade today, having rallied nearly 5 per cent in the past two trading days. On Wednesday, the index surpassed its previous high of 29,311.55 hit on June 30, 2021 in the intra-day trade. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 index was up 0.77 per cent in the past two trading days.

As many as 17 stocks from the IT sector hit their respective record highs today including Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, LTTS, Coforge, Happiest Minds Technologies, Tata Elxsi, Mindtree and Sonata Software.

Individually, shares of Infosys hit a fresh record high of Rs 1,597.25, up 1.3 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade today, after the country’s second-largest IT services player on Wednesday raised its revenue growth guidance for FY22 buoyed by a robust deal pipeline. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,590.85 touched on June 30, 2021. Infosys now expects its revenue to grow by 14-16 per cent in FY22, up from the earlier estimate of 12-14 per cent. This guidance is ahead of the one-percentage point increase analysts were estimating. The company, however, maintained margin guidance at 22-24 per cent in FY22.

Meanwhile, those of LTTS zoomed 16 per cent to a record high of Rs 3,373 on the BSE in the intra-day trade after the company reported better-than-expected Q1FY22 results. The stock of the internet software and services company surpassed its previous high of Rs 3,062.45 hit on April 9, 2021. LTTS reported an 84 per cent year-on-year (YoY), 11.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) jump in its Q1FY22 net profit at Rs 216.2 crore, largely on widening margins. In dollar terms, revenues increased 4.2 per cent and rose 4.3 per cent in constant currency (CC) terms, sequentially. Revenues from digital and leading-edge technologies were at 54 per cent during the quarter.

EBIT (earnings before interest tax) margin increased 70 basis points (bps) QoQ to 17.3 per cent, despite a wage hike during Q1FY22, aided by efficiency improvement, better utilisation, and ongoing rightsizing of the workforce. The company expects revenues to increase 15-17 per cent in FY22E. Deal traction was healthy in the quarter with six deal wins of total contract value (TCV) of $10 million-plus, which includes two deals with TCV of $25 million-plus.

The management said the last four consecutive quarters of operating margin improvement has been a result of a gradual portfolio shift towards more digital engineering as well as operational efficiency initiatives around hiring, cross-skilling, productivity improvement and cost optimization.

Meanwhile, Wipro too hit a record high of Rs 579.75, up 3 per cent today, gaining 10 per cent in the past two trading days, ahead of its Q1FY22 results later in the day.

Wipro's net profit could jump 14-19 per cent YoY during the quarter ended Q1FY22 on 17-19 per cent growth in topline. The revenue growth would be led by organic growth in the IT services business and the acquisition of Capco, analysts said. A contraction in EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) margins sequentially is a given amid wage hike and dilution from Capco acquisition, which in turn would drive PAT (profit after tax) lower on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, they said. CLICK HERE FOR FULL REPORT

COMPANY	LATEST	ALL TIME HIGH	PREV HIGH	PREV DATE
Coforge	4518.60	4563.70	4559.25	14-Jul-21
Cyient	968.55	995.00	919.10	21-Jun-21
Datamatics Glob.	210.65	215.80	210.00	07-May-04
EClerx Services	2197.20	2236.90	2200.00	08-Jul-21
Firstsour.Solu.	204.60	208.45	205.80	29-Jun-21
Happiest Minds	1412.30	1427.55	1323.00	14-Jul-21
Hinduja Global	2968.25	2968.25	2850.00	14-Jul-21
Infosys	1584.55	1597.25	1590.85	30-Jun-21
L&T Technology	3366.05	3373.40	3062.45	09-Apr-21
Mastek	2347.65	2369.65	2360.00	28-Jun-21
Mindtree	2726.00	2738.65	2728.00	14-Jul-21
Sasken Technol.	1306.30	1373.90	1347.95	14-Jul-21
Sonata Software	796.00	799.95	786.20	14-Jul-21
Tata Elxsi	4478.00	4572.75	4500.00	05-Jul-21
Tech Mahindra	1109.25	1111.00	1110.00	29-Jun-21
Wipro	574.10	579.75	564.00	15-Jun-21
Zensar Tech.	356.65	364.80	352.40	07-Sep-18