Beating market estimates, Indian IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday reported robust net profit and revenue growth for the fourth quarter of as well as the fiscal 2016-17 in rupee and dollar terms with record operating margin and cash flow.
The global software major posted Rs 6,608 crore net profit for Q4, registering 4.2 per cent over previous year and 2.2 per cent over previous quarter growth in rupee terms.
Revenue for the quarter also grew 4.2 per cent over last year to Rs 29,642 crore but the growth was flat (0.3 per cent) over last quarter.
Under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), net income for Q4 grew 5.8 per cent over last year to $992 million and gross revenue also 5.8 per cent to $4.45 billion.
For the fiscal, net profit grew 8.6 per cent over previous year to Rs 26,269 crore and revenue also grew 8.6 per cent to Rs 117,966 crore in rupee terms.
"The growth was 8.3 per cent in constant currency (cc) with dollar rate at Rs.64.85 as on March 31 and volume growth 8.5 per cent for the fiscal under review," said the IT major in a statement here.
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Under IFRS, net income for the fiscal grew 6.2 per cent to $3.92 billion and gross revenue also grew 6.2 per cent to $17.58 billion.
Operating profit for Q4 grew 2.9 per cent over last year and 1.4 per cent over last quarter to Rs 7,627 crore, while operating margin was 25.7 percent and volume growth 1.7 per cent.
Operating profit grew 5.3 per cent over last year to Rs 30,324 crore, while operating margin was 5.3 per cent up.
Cash flow from operations at Rs 26,992 crore was up 15.4 per cent over last year in rupee terms, said a TCS statement.
In dollar terms, operating profit for Q4 was $1.15 billion and $4.52 billion for the fiscal, while operating margin was 25.7 per cent for the quarter and the fiscal.
Cash flow from operations at $4 billion was up 13.2 per cent over last year in dollar terms, noted the statement.
The company's board proposed a final dividend of Rs 27.50 per share of Re 1 face value and a final dividend of Rs 47 per share for the fiscal, including Rs.19.5 interim dividend declared in October for the first half of the fiscal.
"FY2017 was a year of broad-based growth amidst economic and political turbulence in our key markets. We added $1.4 billion in cc and increased digital revenues to help our customers leverage the digital economy," said Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Gopinathan in the statement.
Gopinathan, the company's former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), succeeded then CEO N. Chandrasekaran on February 21 following the latter's appointment as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, the holding firm of the Indian multinational Tata Group.
The company's digital business grew 29 per cent over last year to $3 billion annually, with most industries showing double-digit growth and the customer base increasing across different revenue bands.
"Our clients are looking for integrated offerings as they advance their Cloud agenda. We also have a solid pipeline of deals across markets and industries," said Gopinathan, who is also the company's Managing Director.
On the back of digital adoption, Agile, Automation and Cloud-based technologies and platforms will drive efficiencies and predictable outcomes across clients spanning infrastructure, applications and business operations.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) V. Ramakrishnan said the company ended FY 2017 with an industry-leading financial performance despite headwinds from volatile currencies and generated strong cash flows.
"We continue to invest to support organic growth of our digital business, build new market segments and drive profitability in our targeted range," said Ramakrishnan in the statement.
The company added 11 new clients in $50 million, 17 in $20 million and 12 in $10 million revenue billing during the fiscal.
"Technology is driving different industries to rapidly evolve into new, uncharted ways. To stay relevant, enterprises have to go full on digital, stay agile and delight customers with a superior always-on experience," said Chief Operating Officer N. Ganapathy Subramaniam in the statement.
The fiscal also saw broad-based growth across markets, with industry verticals except BFSI, Retail and Hi-Tech growing in double digits.
"Our contextual knowledge of the customer's business combined with our digital talent and execution positions us to play a strategic role to help them transform and grow," said Subramaniam.
Though the company hired 20,093 people in the fourth quarter, the net addition was 8,726, as 11,367 left.
For FY 2017, gross addition was 78,912 and net addition 33,380, as 45,532 techies exited, taking the total headcount to 387,223 worldwide, including 34.7 per cent women, an all-time high, and representing 130 nationalities.
The attrition rate for IT services declined to 11.5 per cent in the fiscal from 15.5 per cent last year.
"Our hiring patterns are evolving, with more employees being hired in different markets through hackathons and gaming and coding contests," added Human Resources Global Head Ajoy Mukherjee.
--IANS
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