TCS net up 54% in Q3

MUMBAI: India's largest software services provider, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., said its quarterly net profit rose a better-than-expected 54.1 percent, amid growing interest in outsourcing.

The firm, part of India's second-largest industrial conglomerate, the Tata group, said its October-December net profit was Rs 709 crore on revenue of Rs 2,578 crore, according to U.S. accounting standards.

The company had a foreign exchange gain of Rs 78.88 crore, helped by hedging, an official said.

A Reuters poll of 14 brokerages had forecast a net profit of Rs 610 crore on revenue of Rs 2,614 crore.

TCS, which is General Electric Co.'s largest offshore IT services provider, listed on the Indian stock exchanges in August last year after a record $1.17 billion initial public offering.

Its results came a day after rival Infosys Technologies reported a 52 percent rise in third-quarter net profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast, but cautioned that the rising rupee was a challenge.

Indian software firms, which earn most of their revenue from overseas, have benefited from increasing interest in outsourcing from global customers, particularly in the prime U.S. market.

A company official told analysts in a conference call that TCS saw higher prices for some services, but pricing was stable for most others. He said the company had a healthy pipeline of business.

TCS added a net 2,521 staffers during the quarter, keeping pace with Infosys which hired a net 2,280 in the quarter.