Bangalore: HCL Technologies Ltd, India's fourth-biggest software services provider, beat analysts' estimates with a 73 per cent rise in quarterly profit after winning orders and keeping a lid on hiring. Net profit rose to Rs 10.4 billion for the fiscal third-quarter ended on March 31 from Rs 6 billion in the year-earlier period, said HCL Technologies, whose customers include Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia Oyj.
That compared with the average forecast of Rs 9.35 billion in a survey of 16 analysts by Thomson Reuters. HCL follows a July-June fiscal year.
On Friday, larger rival Infosys Ltd, which has been losing market share to the likes of HCL and industry leader Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, disappointed investors with lower-than-expected revenue guidance, sending its shares plunging 21 per cent on the day. TCS is due to report March quarter results later on Wednesday.
During the quarter, HCL added 37 customers. The company reduced 791 staff, taking the total to 84,403 from 85,194 at the end of the December quarter, maintaining tight control of headcount after shedding jobs in the previous quarter as well.
The future of the IT industry lies in transforming traditional outsourcing into higher-value services that solve business problems with technology innovations, Vice Chairman Vineet Nayar said in a statement.
Exports in India's $108 billion IT outsourcing industry rose 10.2 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in March, according to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM). The industry group expects export growth of 12 to 14 per cent in the fiscal year that started this month.
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