Tata Sons dividend from TCS falls, the first time since IPO

Tata Sons received ₹32,718.6 crore as dividend income from TCS, down ₹1,333 cr from FY24

- Varun Sood

Tata Sons received less money from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd in the fiscal year 2024-25 than in the year before, a first year-on-year decline since India's largest information technology services company went public in August 2004.

TCS had accounted for about 84% of the Tata Group holding company's total income in 2023-24.

Tata Sons earned ₹1,333 crore less in FY25 dividend income from TCS at a time when it needs more money to bankroll its group companies' new but loss-making businesses, including assembling iPhones for Apple Inc. (Tata Electronics Pvt. Ltd), running Air India, and building an e-commerce business under Tata Digital Ltd.

TCS returned ₹45,588 crore to shareholders in FY25, representing a 4% decline from the ₹47,445 crore it distributed to shareholders in FY24, according to the company's annual report released on Wednesday. As Tata Sons owns 71.77% of TCS, it received ₹32,718.6 crore as dividend income for FY25, down from ₹34,051.27 crore for FY24.

TCS's shareholder payout ratio as a percentage of total free cash flow in FY25 totalled 93.9%—the lowest since FY19, when it was 92.6%. In FY24, the ratio was 101.8%.