HCL Tech shines as Wipro revenue lags

Revenue growth highest at HCL Tech; Wipro profitability rises

- Shouvik Das & Jas Bardia

• HCL may see a stronger calendar year ahead than its peers, owing to manufacturing its and engineering focus

HCL Technologies Ltd emerged as the best performer out of the top four IT services firms in India, reporting 5.9% sequential revenue growth and 12.5% sequential net profit growth for the December quarter. In comparison, Wipro Ltd's lacklustre FY24 continued with a 1.7% sequential revenue decline, although there was a surprise uptick to its net profit-which rose 1.7% sequentially, thus beating analyst estimates.

HCL Technologies reported $3.42 billion in revenue, while net profit was $522 million for the quarter. A poll of 25 analysts by Bloomberg had projected $3.37 billion in quarterly revenue, and $496 million in net profit for HCL, for the December quarter. Operating margin for HCL stood at 19.8%, up 1.3 percentage points.

Wipro reported $2.67 billion in revenue for the quarter, and $323.9 million in net profit. A poll of 22 analysts by Bloomberg expected $2.65 billion in revenue and $321 million in net profit for the period, for Wipro. Operating margin for the quarter fell 10 basis points (bps) sequentially to 16%.