IT firms' valuations at 9-year low

29 listed firms are trading at 16.2 times trailing 12-month net profits against 18.8 times past year

The bulls have virtually given up on the IT sector. The price to earnings (P/E) multiple of top-listed IT companies has hit a nine-year low, only a little better than the previous record low in March 2009. 

The 29 listed IT companies that are part of BSE 500, BSE mid-cap and BSE small-cap index are now trading at 16.2 times their trailing 12-month net profits, down from 18.8 times a year ago. The sector had hit a trough during the post-Lehman crisis sell-off when the valuation reached an all-time low of 10.6x at the end of March 2009. 

The earnings