HCL Tech 2nd quarter net up 47%

BS 200 SCORECARD

Net profit at HCL Technologies rose 46.7 per cent to Rs 129.14 crore for the second quarter ended December 31, 2004, from Rs 88.02 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

This was on a revenue of Rs 801.38 crore, an increase of 29.4 per cent over Rs 619.29 crore. "Earnings after tax" rose by over 60 per cent to Rs 155.06 crore in December 2004 from Rs 96.37 crore in December 2003.

Earnings before tax rose by 54.4 per cent to Rs 168.66 crore in December 2004 from Rs 109.24 crore in the second quarter that ended in December 2003.

Software services contributed to 78 per cent of its total revenues, BPO services accounting for 13.7 per cent and infrastructure services putting in 8.3 per cent.

During the previous quarter, the company completed two major joint ventures with Deutsche Bank and British Telecom.

The company has restructured the services portfolio in the shape of its recent joint ventures, by rebalancing its investments. "We have derisked our portfolio considerably," said S L Narayanan, corporate vice president (finance).

He added that the billing rates this quarter had remained stable. The company added 16 new customers in the quarter taking the total to 493, including a Dutch Insurance firm and two other major American companies, said a company executive.

This quarter also saw the addition of 1,775 employees, over 900 professionals were added in software services, nearly 700 to its BPO business, Narayanan, said.

The company is planning a campus having a size of over 46 acres in Noida to accommodate 15,000 employees, including operations of its BPO and software divisions over the next 30 months, said Narayanan.