The Tell-Tale Sign

TCS reported its Q4 results, declaring a 1.7% fall in its consolidated net profit. It also deferred salary hikes in April. Is this a sign of stress in the IT sector?

- BY RAHUL OBEROI

IT MAJOR TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) is considered a bellwether of the Indian IT sector. The company kicked off the Q4 earnings season kicked off on a muted note, with the tech titan posting 1.7% year-on-year (YoY) fall in its consolidated net profit at ₹12,224 crore, the its first quarterly fall in 18 quarters. On the other hand, the company’s revenue grew by 5.29% YoY at ₹64,479 crore.

The country’s largest IT services firm by revenue indicated that global uncertainty has led to an overall impact on business, with consumer, manufacturing, life sciences, and healthcare verticals affected the most. Meanwhile, it also deferred salary hikes for employees for the current year, citing the growing macroeconomic uncertainty, intensified by the ongoing tariff war between the US and other countries.