NEW DELHI:India's top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. said Monday profit in the January-March period rose 47.4 percent from a year ago, helped by a slew of large outsourcing contracts.
Mumbai-based TCS said it won 12 outsourcing contracts valued at more than US$50 million (€38 million) each during the financial year that ended in March.
"The significant number of large wins ... that will ramp up during the next fiscal year makes us confident of continuing sustained, profitable growth," Chief Executive S. Ramadorai said in a statement.
Net profit rose to US$270 million (€207 million) in the January-March period compared with US$183 million in the same quarter a year ago, the statement said.
Revenues rose 38.2 percent to US$1.2 billion (€920 million) during the quarter, taking annual revenues to US$4.3 billion (€3.3 billion), it said.
The earnings numbers, which conform to U.S. accounting standards, were much in line with expectations. The company didn't give any guidance for future revenues and profits.
Chief Financial Officer S. Mahalingam told reporters the company is pursuing at least 10 deals valued at more than US$50 million each.
Each TCS share earned about US$0.97 in the financial year, said the statement, which came after the close of trading Monday.
The stock market has seen a rally since Friday after Infosys Technologies Ltd., which rivals TCS, reported a surprising 70 percent jump in quarterly profit, boosting investors' confidence in technology shares.
Scores of Western companies routinely hire Indian firms to handle software development, back-office operations, and other work such as managing information technology infrastructure. Outsourcing these tasks helps save costs as wages are low in India and skilled workers are easily available.
TCS said it added 43 new clients during the January-March quarter, taking its total number to 218. It also hired 5,827 new employees during the quarter.
The company plans to give a 12-15 percent pay hike to its staff based in India, while overseas employees will see their salaries increase between 3 percent and 5 percent this year.
In recent years, Indian companies have increasingly looked to new markets in South America, Europe and China in a bid to hedge against a possible slowdown in the United States, which has so far been the largest source of outsourcing orders.
TCS said it ramped up its centers in Brazil, Mexico and China, and sales in South America doubled last year.
Still, about half of its revenue in the financial year 2006-07 came from the United States, while about a quarter came from Europe.