TCS sets up 11 Covid-19 isolation centres for staff, their dependents

 India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has set up 11 first-line COVID-19 isolation centres within its premises in various cities in India, including Mumbai, Indore and Nagpur.

According to an email to employees, these centres will provide medical support to associates and their dependents (spouse, children and parents /parents-in-law) who are asymptomatic or mildly COVID-19 positive with no other co-morbidities or medical history/complications.

All the centres will have 24/7 medical cover, along with daily monitoring by trained professionals. The patients can even connect with a counsellor virtually during their treatment.

When contacted, TCS in an emailed response said: "Amidst the tumult of the last few months, our priority has always been to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees."

"TCS Health Centres in our campuses will provide isolation, comfort and treatment by the health professionals to our employees and their dependents, who are asymptomatic or have mild (COVID-19) symptoms," the statement added.

These centres, which will function as per the various guidelines laid down by the Centre and state governments, have been set up in TCS facilities in Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Indore and Nagpur.

TCS has collaborated with various entities to provide medical and hospitality support at these centres that have around 20-50 beds.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

TCS becomes the second Indian company to cross Rs 9 trillion m-cap

 The market-capitalisation (m-cap) of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd surged past the Rs 9 trillion-mark for the first time, after its share price rose 1.5 per cent to hit a record high of Rs 2,408 in Monday's early morning trade. The information techology (IT) giant is the second Indian company, after Reliance Industries (RIL), to achieve the milestone.

The IT bellwether's stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 2,389.50, hit on September 8, 2020. At 09:18 am, TCS' m-cap stood at Rs 9.02 trillion, the BSE data shows.

In the past week, TCS has outperformed the market by gaining 4 per cent, as comapred to 1.7 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. However, it has underpeformed during the last three months, by gaining 15 per cent, against 16.5 per cent upmove recorded by the benchmakr index.

While TCS posted a weak set of numbers in the April-June quarter (Q1FY21), analysts at Edelweiss Securities believe that the management’s outlook is encouraging, led by three key areas (1) Transformation/upgradation of the core, which was stress tested with the surge in online activity triggered by covid-19. (2) Significant spurt in enterprise spends in improving front-end consumer experience. (3) Spends by clients on developing zero-touch experience.

ICICI Securities expects TCS to report improved growth in coming quarters mainly led by receding challenges on the supply side, ramp up of deals, vendor consolidation opportunities and traction in BFSI. The company also expects cloud, customer experience, automation and cyber security related digital technologies to gain traction in the long term.

"We believe TCS could see a decline in FY21E revenues mainly due to a weak first quarter. However, we expect the company to register healthy growth in FY22E mainly led by ramp up of deal pipeline and acceleration in digital technologies", it said. The brokerage maintains 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 2,650 per share.

"TCS, with its high 31 per cent BFSI exposure, is in a favourable position to benefit from the vertical’s healthy growth dynamics, on the back of its comprehensive services portfolio, rich product offerings, robust scale and efficient, geographically-diverse delivery model," analysts at BOB Capital Markets noted.

Nifty IT index rallies 3%; TCS, HCL Tech, Mindtree, Coforge hit fresh highs

 Shares of information technology (IT) companies were on a roll at the bourses on Monday with the Nifty IT index surging over 3 per cent after HCL Technologies said that it expects the revenue and the operating margin for the July-September quarter (Q2FY21) to be meaningfully better than the top end of the guidance it had provided in July’2020.

At 10:40 am, Nifty IT index, the top gainer among sectoral indices, was up 3 per cent, as compared to 0.7 per cent rise in the Nifty 50 index. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies, Mindtree, and Coforge (earlier know as NIIT Technologies), from the IT index hit their respective record highs on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today.

HCL Technologies rallied 8 per cent to Rs 776.65 in intra-day trade today, surpassing its previous high of Rs 738.80, touched on September 8, 2020. "We have seen strong execution during the quarter to date, and continue to execute to the plan this month. The Revenue growth for the current quarter is expected to exceed 3.5 per cent quarter on quarter in constant currency (CC), enabled by broad based momentum across all service lines, verticals and geographies,” HCL Technologies said in mid-quarter business update.

The IT major further said the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin for the current quarter is expected to be between 20.5 per cent and 21.0 per cent. Good booking momentum continues this quarter, led by life sciences & healthcare, telecom & media and financial services verticals. The pipeline continues to look healthy across service lines, verticals and geographies, it said.

Meanwhile, TCS, too, hit a record high of Rs 2,443, up 3 per cent today. The market-capitalisation (m-cap) of the Tata group IT company surged past the Rs 9 trillion-mark for the first time. With this, TCS has become only the second Indian company, after Reliance Industries (RIL), to achieve the milestone.

Persistent Systems, Datamatics Global Services, Birlasoft, Mphasis, Firstsource Solutions, NIIT, Mastek, Ramco Systems and Quick Heal Technologies from the S&P BSE IT index were up between 5 per cent and 11 per cent.

All the Tier 1 IT vendors reported decline in net headcount for the April-June quarter. The lower travel costs, lower operational costs (as employees working from home) and headcount reduction have helped in margins for the quarter. Most midcaps which include LT Infotech/ Mindtree/ Hexaware/ Persistent have showed strong margin performance for the quarter.

Analysts at Centrum Broking see strong April-September (H1FY21) margins owing to postponement of wage hikes. The companies might have to get back on wage hikes in (October-March) H2FY21 if economy recovers and lock down eases.

Meanwhile, "the sector has seen a strong rally with Tier 1 IT stocks surpassing pre-covid absolute stock prices. Most stocks have even re-rated and are now trading at much higher P/E multiples compared to pre-covid levels. We believe moderating pace of Stimulus in USA could pose challenges in verticals like BFSI which has been more resilient in 1QFY21. Traditional retail, airlines, hospitality/energy and some sub segments of manufacturing can continue to pose headwinds in FY21," the brokerage firm said in IT services sector update.

Decoded: 5% tax on foreign fund transfers that may go up to 10% for some

Tax collected at source (TCS) at the rate of five per cent will be imposed on the money remitted outside India. However, if the remittance is made out of a loan taken for higher education, the TCS rate will be 0.5 per cent of the money remitted. The Finance Act, 2020 has inserted a new sub-section (1G) in Section 206C in this regard.

The remittances on which TCS will apply are those where money is sent outside under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or buying tour packages.

LRS allows resident individuals to remit up to $250,000 per financial year to pay expenses related to travelling, medical treatment, studying, gifts and donations, maintenance of close relatives, among other things.

Besides, the remitted amount can also be invested in shares, debt instruments, and to buy immovable properties abroad. Individuals can also open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with banks outside India for carrying out transactions permitted under the scheme.

However, LRS does not allow buying and selling of foreign exchange abroad, or purchase of lottery tickets or sweepstakes, proscribed magazines and so on.

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Also, money can't be remitted to countries identified by the Financial Action Task Force as “non cooperative countries and territories".

The new income tax rule introduced on foreign exchange transactions will be effective from October 1, 2020. Naveen Wadhwa, deputy general manager, Taxmann, says, "The Finance Act, 2020, has inserted a new sub-section (1G) in Section 206C, with effect from October 1, 2020. This provision provides for the collection of tax by an authorised dealer (dealing in foreign exchange or foreign security) or overseas tour operator."

Simply put, foreign remittance made above Rs 7 lakh will attract a tax-collected-at source (TCS) unless the tax has already been deducted at source (TDS) on that amount.

How it works: Keep in mind that the TCS will be applicable on the amount in excess of Rs 7 lakh in a financial year and not on the total amount. For example, if the total foreign exchange facility availed under LRS in a financial year is Rs 10 lakh, and you want to remit the amount abroad, a TCS at 5 per cent will be applicable on Rs 3 lakh. (Rs 10 lakh minus Rs 7 lakh) and tax collected will be Rs 15,000. In another example, if a person is remitting Rs 10 lakh for any purpose (other than for the purchase of overseas tour package), he has to make a payment of Rs 10,15,000 (RS 10 lakh plus 5 per cent of Rs 3 lakh).

"No such relaxation of threshold is available to buy overseas tour packages," explained Sandeep Sehgal, director-tax and regulatory at AKM Global.

Why this rule: Ashok Shah, Senior Partner, NA Shah and Associates, says, "This move is curtailed tax avoidance. Many who have been transferring funds abroad under this scheme did not file income tax returns. People remitting large sums ideally should be in the income tax bracket and paying income tax." Your local Kirana store owner, for instance, doesn't file returns but could be heading for a fancy tour every second year, with the whole family. Balwant Jain, Tax expert, and Chief Editor, Apnapaisa says, "So, to trace the tax evaders, this section has been amended to identify the person making remittance in excess of specified limit but not furnishing return of income."

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The rationale behind the introduction of TCS is that the income tax department has made several observations that the amount sent by the persons outside India does not get corroborated with their income tax returns, Sehgal said.

"So, in order to prevent undue tax leakage and failure to disclose such information by persons, this provision has been introduced," he said.

Foreign Tour Operators: Jain says, "The tax shall be collected on the amount or aggregate of the amount in excess of Rs 7 lakh if the remittance is made for a purpose other than for the purchase of an overseas tour package. If the remittance is made for the purchase of an overseas tour package, then threshold limit of Rs 7 lakh shall not apply, and tax shall be collected on the total amount of remittance." The tax shall be collected at the rate of 10 per cent if PAN has not been furnished.

Studying Abroad: For students planning to go abroad for studies, and who have taken an education loan from a financial institution, rate of TCS shall be 0.5 per cent on the amount exceeding Rs 7 lakh. Wadhwa says, "At the rate of 0.5 per cent, if the amount being remitted out has been sourced from an education loan as defined in Section 80E. If the buyer does not furnish his PAN, the tax shall be collected at the rate of 5 per cent."

Any other purpose: Wadhwa says, "Where the amount is remitted for any other purpose under LRS, the tax shall be collected at the rate of 5 per cent if the buyer has furnished his PAN. Otherwise, the tax shall be collected at the rate of 10 per cent."

ALSO READ: Asia-Pacific may see up to $54.3-bn remittance loss due to Covid-19: ADB

The TCS will be collected at the time of receipt of the amount, or at the time of debiting the amount payable whichever is earlier. The rate shall be further increased by Surcharge and Health & Education Cess if the buyer is a non-resident person or a foreign company. TCS will be collected by the authorized dealer or the seller of the package.

Shah says, "The sum paid as TCS will be allowed as credit while furnishing return of income. If there is no tax liability, the sum can also be collected as a refund." Under the Reserve Bank of India's liberalised remittances scheme, individuals can remit a maximum of $250,000 abroad every year.

Things to remember: Shah says, "Be careful that you give all correct details when dealing with banks, tax-related matters etc. Check that TCS credit has come to your account by going to the income tax website. For an honest person, there is nothing to fear after October 1."

TCS posts 0.2% rise in Q3 profit at Rs 8,118 cr; announces dividend of Rs 5

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday reported a 0.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 8,118 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal. (Q3FY20). Sequentially, the numbers grew 0.94 per cent.
Revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 39,854 crore, up 6.7 per cent YoY while in constant currency terms, revenue grew 6.8 per cent YoY. Sequentially, revenue in constant currency terms grew 0.3 per cent.
The company also announced interim dividend of Rs 5, record date of which has been fixed on January 25 while the payment date is January 31.
Total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 40,672 crore, up 5.63 per cent YoY. Basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of the company stood at Rs 21.63, up 0.13 per cent YoY. The company's operating margin stood at 25 per cent. Net cash from operations stood at nearly Rs 9,451 crore which was 116.4 per cent of net income.

The numbers were slight below Street expectations. For instance, analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services had estimated TCS' net profit or profit after tax (PAT) to grow 1.8 per cent QoQ and 1 per cent YoY to Rs 8,187.1 crore. Net sales (revenue) was seen at Rs 40,110 crore, up 7.4 per cent YoY and 2.9 per cent QoQ. Ebitda margin was expected to rise 27 bps QoQ to 27.3 per cent. On a YoY basis, the margin was expected to see a jump of 104 bps. They had built in a 1.2 per cent revenue growth QoQ in CC terms, with nearly 90-bp QoQ cross-currency tailwinds.
"We saw the sectoral trends of the first half of the year continue to play out in the third quarter. Our robust order book during the quarter reflects our ability to pitch innovative technology solutions to address the business needs of different stakeholders in the enterprise, and participate in our customers' enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. This is also helping deepen and broaden our customer relationships, and make the business more resilient," said Rajesh Gopinathan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD).
Industry-wise, revenues from Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) segment stood at Rs 15,483 crore, up 5.16 per cent YoY while Manufacturing grew 5.3 per cent. Revenues from Retail and Consumer Business stood at Rs 6,709 crore, up 4 per cent. Communications segment revenue stood at Rs 6,608 crore, up 8.5 per cent YoY.
Life Sciences & Healthcare continued to outperform as the segment grew 17 per cent YoY.
Addressing the media post results announcement, TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan said that BFSI is a complex area and UK and US continue to remain challenging for the vertical.
"In a seasonally weak quarter characterized by furloughs across multiple industry verticals, we focused on execution, while continuing to invest for future growth. Having onboarded over 30,000 trainees in the first half of the year, we worked on driving up utilization in Q3 and had good outcomes. Our client metrics were also very good, with additions across most revenue buckets," said N Ganapathy Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director.
During the quarter, the company won deal worth $6 billion, taking 9MFY20 to total contract value (TCV) of US$18 billion, up 22 per cent YoY.
Geographically, growth was led by Europe (+15.9%) and Middle East and Africa (MEA) (+10.8%) and UK (+7.5%). North America and Asia Pacific grew 4.1 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively. India grew 6.4 per cent while Latin America grew over 6.2 per cent.
On year-to-date (YTD) basis, TCS saw net addition of 22,390 employees. IT Services attrition rate stood at 12.2 per cent last twelve months (LTM). The company said that 93 per cent of the 30,000 freshers onboarded in first half of the fiscal has been deployed in projects.

Eight of top-10 most valued firms add Rs 1.34 trillion in m-cap; TCS leads

Eight of the 10 most valued Indian firms together added over Rs 1.34 trillion to their market capitalisation last week, with TCS emerging as the biggest gainer.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), HUL, HDFC, ITC, Infosys, HDFC Bank and SBI were the other firms which witnessed a rally in their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday, while Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank finished with losses.

The market valuation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) jumped Rs 28,893.36 crore to Rs 8.27 trillion.
Infosys' m-cap soared by Rs 24,704.61 crore to Rs 2.9 trillion, while State Bank of India (SBI) gained Rs 28,469.51 crore to Rs 2.79 trillion.
RIL's m-cap zoomed Rs 16,671.95 crore to Rs 9.23 trillion while that of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) spurted Rs 7,977.33 crore to reach Rs 4,71,864.08 crore.
HDFC's market valuation advanced by Rs 4,428.96 crore to Rs 3.67 trillion, and ITC added Rs 16,525.33 crore to its valuation to stand at Rs 3,21,045.99 crore.
The valuation of HDFC Bank increased by Rs 6,739.43 crore to reach Rs 6.78 trillion.
On the other hand, the m-cap of Kotak Mahindra Bank dipped Rs 1,456.04 crore to Rs 3.01 trillion while that of ICICI Bank plunged Rs 4,519.55 crore to Rs 2.98 trillion.
In terms of ranking of the top-10 firms, RIL retained the top spot, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, HDFC, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys and SBI.
During the week, the Sensex rose by 1,106.97 points or 2.83 per cent.

Nine of top-10 firms add Rs 1.47 trillion in m-cap; Infosys the only loser

Nine of the 10 most valued Indian companies together added a whopping Rs 1.47 trillion in market valuation last week, with RIL and TCS grabbing the limelight with the maximum gains.
Barring Infosys, rest nine companies witnessed addition in their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday.

RIL's valuation zoomed Rs 39,876.44 crore to Rs 8,97,179.47 crore.
Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday added another feather to its cap by becoming the first Indian firm to hit the Rs 9 trillion market valuation mark in intra-day trade.
The m-cap of TCS soared Rs 26,379.27 crore to Rs 7,71,996.87 crore and that of HUL jumped Rs 21,962.02 crore to Rs 4,55,952.72 crore.
HDFC Bank's valuation climbed Rs 16,767.89 crore to Rs 6,72,466.30 crore and that of HDFC advanced Rs 14,728.66 crore to Rs 3,61,801.97 crore.
The m-cap of SBI went higher by Rs 13,521.15 crore to Rs 2,40,652.15 crore and that of ICICI Bank rose Rs 6,046.16 crore to Rs 2,82,783.39 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank added Rs 5,223.93 crore to its m-cap to reach Rs 3,08,555.52 crore. ITC logged a rise of Rs 2,948.75 crore to its valuation to stand at Rs 3,02,861.98 crore.
On the other hand, the valuation of Infosys tumbled Rs 20,594.7 crore to Rs 3,29,751.88 crore.
In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL was at the top spot, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, HDFC, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank and SBI.
During the last week, the Sensex advanced 1,171.30 points or 3.07 per cent.

TCS Q2 net up 1.8% at Rs 8,042 cr; announces special dividend of Rs 40/sh

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday posted 1.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its net profit at Rs 8,042 crore for the second quarter (July-September) of the financial year 2019-20 (FY20). On a sequential basis, the numbers slipped 1.09 per cent. The IT major had posted profit of Rs 8,131 crore in June quarter and Rs 7,901 crore in the year-ago period.
Revenue in constant currency (CC) terms grew 8.4 per cent YoY, while revenue in rupee terms came in at Rs 38,977 crore, up 5.8 per cent YoY. Revenue in US dollar terms came in at $5,517 million. The numbers missed analysts' estimates.

Analysts at ICICI Securities, for instance, had forecast revenue in US dollar terms to grow 7 per cent YoY and 1.8 per cent QoQ to $5,581 million.
"In rupee terms, TCS is expected to post a sales growth of 6.4 per cent YoY to Rs 39,225.8 crore. On QoQ basis, the numbers are expected to rise by 2.8 per cent. EBIT is estimated at Rs 9,950.2 crore, up 1.8 per cent YoY and 7.9 per cent QoQ while net profit is seen at Rs 8,266.7 crore, up 4.6 per cent YoY and 1.7 per cent QoQ. EBIT margin, on the other hand, is expected to fall by 115 bps YoY to 25.4 per cent. On QoQ basis, it is expected to increase by 121 bps," the brokerage had said.
Profit margin and business highlights
Operating margin (OPM) for the quarter under review stood at 24 per cent, while net margin came in at 20.6 per cent. Earnings Per Share (EPS) stood at 21.43, up 3.8 per cent YoY, the company said in its press release. Further, TCS also announced special dividend of Rs 40 per share and an interim dividend of Rs 5 / share.
Revenue from digital segment grew 27.9 per cent YoY. Life Sciences & Healthcare grew 16 per cent YoY while Communications & Media grew 11.8 per cent. Geographical-wise, UK business grew 13.3 per cent YoY while business from Europe increased 16 per cent YoY. The company added 14,097 employees during the period, its highest ever in a quarter. IT Services attrition rate stood at 11.6 per cent LTM (last twelve months).
"We ended the quarter with steady growth despite increased volatility in the financial services and retail verticals. We remain confident as the medium and longer term demand for our services continues to be very strong, as evidenced by our Q2 order book - the highest in the last six quarters," said Rajesh Gopinathan, TCS' chief executive officer and managing director.
"Digital disruption across multiple industries is making rapid, scalable innovation a critical imperative in the Business 4.0 world. In the auto sector, our scale in advanced engineering R&D skills and depth in digital technologies like Al and loT are making us the preferred innovation partner to leading OEMs, embedding us deeply into their product R&D value chain. Our strategic partnership with -General Motors for their next generation mobility initiatives is a powerful illustration of this," Gopinathan added.
Segment-wise numbers
TCS Q2 segment-wiseTCS Q2 segment-wise

Markets may witness range-bound trade, to be guided by Infy, TCS earnings

The domestic equity market may witness range-bound trade during the holiday-truncated week ahead, and will largely be guided by quarterly earnings from TCS and Infosys along with global trends, according to market analysts.
"Since we are heading towards the earnings season, a lot of cues will now be taken from important results of TCS, Wipro and Infosys. Volatility may be inching up in specific sectors and some rotation may be seen," Mustafa Nadeem, CEO of Epic Research, said.

TCS is scheduled to kick start the earnings season on Thursday followed by Infosys on Friday.
We will also see global developments with the US-China trade talks taking the lead, he added.
Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday for Dussehra.
Investors are cautious and watchful about the earnings season which at this juncture looks less enthusiastic. There is a possibility that equity markets will trade cautious and range bound, said Motilal Oswal, Managing Director of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Bourses are also expected to track industrial production data, which is scheduled to be announced post market hours on Friday.
Among global events, investors would keep an eyes the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes slated to be released on Wednesday (October 9, 2019).
"On the global front, markets would watch out for US job report that would determine the Fed's next move," Siddharth Khemka Head, Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited said.
Besides global cues, market participants would also keep a close watch on rupee-dollar trend, oil prices and investment pattern by overseas investors.
During the last week, which also had a holiday-shortened, the Sensex plummeted 1,149.26 points or 2.96 per cent. On Friday, it dropped 433.56 points or 1.14 per cent to close at 37,673.31 after Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy outcome.
In its fourth bi-monthly policy review of this fiscal, the central bank reduced its benchmark lending rate by 0.25 percentage point to 5.15 per cent to revive growth that hit a six-year low of 5 per cent in the June quarter.
The RBI also lowered its growth forecast for 2019-20 to 6.1 per cent from 6.9 per cent earlier and affirmed commitment to remain accommodative to address growth concerns 'as long as necessary'.
Samco Securities, Founder and CEO, Jimeet Modi on the RBI policy said, "As such the MPC was expected to reduce the interest rates given the global fragile environment and slowdown in domestic economy. For stock markets this will be a non-event from a short-term point of view.

Seven of top-10 firms add Rs 87,965 cr in m-cap; HUL, HDFC Bank top chart

Seven of the 10 most valued Indian companies together added Rs 87,965.88 crore in market valuation last week, with HUL and HDFC Bank topping the chart.

While Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), HDFC, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank were the other firms which saw a rise in their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday, RIL, ITC and SBI suffered losses.

The m-cap of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) zoomed Rs 22,145.92 crore to Rs 3,98,290.92 crore and that of HDFC Bank jumped Rs 18,264.93 crore to Rs 6,23,892.08 crore.

HDFC's valuation advanced Rs 15,148.15 crore to Rs 3,81,619.34 crore and that of TCS rallied Rs 14,840.68 crore to Rs 8,42,635.51 crore.

Infosys gained Rs 6,335.19 crore to reach Rs 3,39,372.78 crore in market valuation, while that of ICICI Bank went up by Rs 6,237.72 crore to Rs 2,71,360.08 crore.

The valuation of Kotak Mahindra Bank rose by Rs 4,993.29 crore to Rs 2,92,866.47 crore.

In contrast, the m-cap of State Bank of India (SBI) dropped Rs 15,261.1 crore to Rs 2,60,018.56 crore and that of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) tumbled Rs 14,072.8 crore to Rs 7,36,602.08 crore.

ITC's valuation declined by Rs 12,606.9 crore to Rs 3,12,146.38 crore.

In the ranking of the top-10 firms, TCS remained at the number one position, followed by RIL, HDFC Bank, HUL, HDFC, Infosys, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI.

During the last week, the Sensex gained 463.69 points or 1.24 per cent.

TCS Q1 profit rises nearly 11% to Rs 8,131 cr; revenue at Rs 38,172 cr

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd , India's biggest software services company, said on Tuesday its first-quarter profit beat estimates, helped by a strong performance from its key banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment.
TCS is the country's second-most valuable company and its earnings are seen as a marker of the $150 billion IT services sector's health.

The Mumbai-headquartered company said it earned 11.2% more in revenue from its BFSI clients compared to a year earlier.
That helped boost its net profit for the quarter ended June 30 to Rs 8,131 crore ($1.19 billion) from 7,340 crore a year earlier.
Revenue rose 11.4% to Rs 38,172 crore.
Analysts on average had expected the company to post a profit of Rs 7,824 crore, according to Refinitiv data.
"Our margins this quarter fully reflect the annual increments that we effected across the board in April," TCS Chief Financial Officer V Ramakrishnan company said in a statement.
The company's biggest rival, Infosys Ltd, will report its first-quarter earnings on Friday.
TCS shares closed down 1.9% on Tuesday in a flat Mumbai market.

TCS becomes India's most valued firm again; surpasses RIL in market-cap

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) regained the status of the country's most valued firm in terms of market capitalisation (market-cap) on Thursday, surging past Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which slipped to the number two position.
TCS market-cap stood at Rs 8.13 trillion, more than RIL' of Rs 7.95-trillion valuation today, as per BSE data. Over the past four days, RIL has lost 11 per cent at the bourses.

On Thursday, RIL ended lower for the fourth consecutive session, down 3.4 per cent at Rs 1,255, after foreign brokerages downgraded the stock. The company has seen a market-cap erosion of Rs 96,288 crore during this period. RIL's market-cap stood at Rs 8.91 trillion on May 3, 2019. Earlier on January 10, 2019, TCS had m-cap of Rs 7.08 trillion and RIL of Rs 7 trillion on closing basis.
Brokerage downgrade hits RIL
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have downgraded the stock to 'equal-weight' with a price target of Rs 1,349. They expect RIL's two-year earnings upswing to reverse.
"Investors are dismissing refining headwinds amid tighter crude markets. A rising glut in the gas and polyester markets could also slow growth into 2020. Upside appears limited amid core business drags, with no material capacity adds,” the brokerage firm said in a note.
"Downside earnings surprises in the energy business should unfold and attract increasing investor attention – a complete reversal in narrative after the positive triggers that played out since 2017. While the potential upside from digital investments could however offer structural upside as RIL rolls out new businesses, the cyclical headwinds in energy lead us to downgrade RIL to equal-weight (EW)" it added. The brokerage firm has a price target price of Rs 1,349.
Analysts at Jefferies also have ‘underperform’ rating on RIL with 12-month target price of Rs 990 per share on concerns of uncertain free cash flow (FCF), energy margins at risk and ROCE also mediocre.
“With its priorities now different and segment EBITDA negative, RIL has been retreating from US shale having already written off half of its $9.5 billion spend. Indeed, shale would cost RIL $5 billion in net cash flow too if it could divest residual assets at the $2.3bn carrying value but Pioneer's Eagle Ford sale suggests that this may be too optimistic. Data, hopefully, is not the new oil but expectations are lofty at around $100 billion in implied Telecom/Retail EV,” the brokerage firm said in report dated May 8, 2019.

TCS becomes India's most valued firm again; surpasses RIL in market-cap

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) regained the status of the country's most valued firm in terms of market capitalisation (market-cap) on Thursday, surging past Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which slipped to the number two position.
TCS market-cap stood at Rs 8.13 trillion, more than RIL' of Rs 7.95-trillion valuation today, as per BSE data. Over the past four days, RIL has lost 11 per cent at the bourses.

On Thursday, RIL ended lower for the fourth consecutive session, down 3.4 per cent at Rs 1,255, after foreign brokerages downgraded the stock. The company has seen a market-cap erosion of Rs 96,288 crore during this period. RIL's market-cap stood at Rs 8.91 trillion on May 3, 2019. Earlier on January 10, 2019, TCS had m-cap of Rs 7.08 trillion and RIL of Rs 7 trillion on closing basis.
Brokerage downgrade hits RIL
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have downgraded the stock to 'equal-weight' with a price target of Rs 1,349. They expect RIL's two-year earnings upswing to reverse.
"Investors are dismissing refining headwinds amid tighter crude markets. A rising glut in the gas and polyester markets could also slow growth into 2020. Upside appears limited amid core business drags, with no material capacity adds,” the brokerage firm said in a note.
"Downside earnings surprises in the energy business should unfold and attract increasing investor attention – a complete reversal in narrative after the positive triggers that played out since 2017. While the potential upside from digital investments could however offer structural upside as RIL rolls out new businesses, the cyclical headwinds in energy lead us to downgrade RIL to equal-weight (EW)" it added. The brokerage firm has a price target price of Rs 1,349.
Analysts at Jefferies also have ‘underperform’ rating on RIL with 12-month target price of Rs 990 per share on concerns of uncertain free cash flow (FCF), energy margins at risk and ROCE also mediocre.
“With its priorities now different and segment EBITDA negative, RIL has been retreating from US shale having already written off half of its $9.5 billion spend. Indeed, shale would cost RIL $5 billion in net cash flow too if it could divest residual assets at the $2.3bn carrying value but Pioneer's Eagle Ford sale suggests that this may be too optimistic. Data, hopefully, is not the new oil but expectations are lofty at around $100 billion in implied Telecom/Retail EV,” the brokerage firm said in report dated May 8, 2019.

TCS net profit up 17.7% to Rs 8,126 crore in Q4, crosses $20-bn revenue

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday reported robust numbers both for the fourth quarter of 2018-19 and the full financial year, with the country’s largest IT services company crossing the $20-billion revenue mark for the first time. Growth in net profit as well as revenue exceeded Street expectations, though margin contracted a bit in the fourth quarter.
For the quarter ended March 31, TCS reported Rs 8,126 crore in net profit, a jump of 17.7 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue, at Rs 38,010 crore, saw an increase of 18.5 per cent on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis. When compared with the trailing quarter, net profit was almost flat, while revenue grew 1.8 per cent.

A survey by Bloomberg based on consensus analysts’ estimates had pegged TCS’ revenue and net profit at Rs 37,829.1 crore and Rs 7,970.7 crore, respectively. “This is a year when TCS has fired from all cylinders, and we are exiting the year on a much stronger note than how we entered it,” CEO and MD Rajesh Gopinathan said during a post-earnings interaction with media. “This is the strongest revenue growth that we have had in the last 15 quarters. Our order book is bigger than (what it was in) the previous three quarters. The deal pipeline is also robust,” Gopinathan added.
For FY19, TCS reported Rs 31,472 crore in net profit, an increase of 21.9 per cent over the previous fiscal year, while revenue at Rs 1.46 trillion was 19 per cent higher than FY18’s.
For the first time, TCS crossed $20 billion in its dollar revenue, posting $20.91 billion in top line in FY19, a growth of 9.6 per cent over the previous year, while it widened the revenue gap with the closest Indian competitor, Infosys, by $9.1 billion. In constant currency terms, it maintained double-digit revenue growth and grew 11.4 per cent.
Operating profit margins for Q4 as well as the full year, however, were marginally lower than the expectations and came below the guided range of 26-29 per cent. In the quarter under review, margins at 25.1 per cent saw a 50 basis point decline over the previous quarter, while margins for the full year stood at 25.6 per cent, up 79 bps.
The firm added six clients, each contributing revenues in excess of $100 million during FY19, while the employee headcount addition stood robust. The year ended with 4,24,285 employees, almost 30,000 higher than last year. Attrition at 11.3 per cent was one of the lowest in industry.
ALSO READ: From customers to employees, experiences shape the story for Brand TCS
TCS continued to witness strong growth in its digital business, which accounted for 31 per cent of the overall revenue. Banking, financial services & insurance, which lagged other verticals, rebounded to double-digit growth with an increase of 11.6 per cent in the March quarter, although for the full year, it was 7.7 per cent.
chart In terms of geographies, North America business grew 9.9 per cent y-o-y (constant currency terms) in Q4, while for the full year, growth was 8.3 per cent. The UK, where TCS has the highest exposure compared with other Indian peers, saw maximum growth with revenues from the country rising 21.3 per cent y-o-y for the quarter and 22 per cent for the full year.
“Deals have come from many different markets and verticals. These give us the confidence that we'll continue the momentum. Last year, we had very large segments that were dragging with growth of less than 2-3 per cent. We now have a benefit of a few large deals, so almost all segments are growing on a par with the company average,” Gopinathan said.
“TCS has delivered a decent set of numbers for Q4FY19, which beat estimates on the revenue and net profit fronts. Reported EBIT margins missed our estimates, though adjusted for Rs 220 crore contribution to electoral trust in Q4, margin was higher than estimates,” said Sanjeev Hota, AVP Research at Sharekhan.
The company reported deal TCV (total contract value) of $6.2 billion compared to $5.9 billion in the last quarter.
TCS said that like the previous year, it would start rolling out salary hikes in the range of 2-6 per cent based on geographies the employees are located, and some other metrics. In Q4 of last year, the company had doled out 120 per cent variable payouts, which will be 100 per cent this year.

TCS, HDFC, Infosys added Rs 40,597 cr to m-cap last week, HUL lost the most

Three of the 10 most valued firms together added Rs 40,597 crore in market valuation last week, with TCS emerging as the biggest gainer.
From the top-10 pack, TCS, HDFC and Infosys saw gains to their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday, while Reliance Industries (RIL), ITC, HUL, HDFC, SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank suffered losses. The cumulative gains of TCS, HDFC and Infosys were higher than the total loss suffered by the seven firms which stood at Rs 30,758.64 crore.

The m-cap of TCS soared by Rs 19,155.92 crore to Rs 7,69,782.96 crore. HDFC's valuation surged Rs 15,346.61 crore to Rs 3,54,004.99 crore and that of Infosys's jumped Rs 6,094.66 crore to Rs 3,30,400.44 crore.
In contrast, the m-cap of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) slumped by Rs 10,412.23 crore to Rs 3,59,275.99 crore.
ICICI Bank's valuation dived Rs 5,376.90 crore to Rs 2,51,729.21 crore and that of RIL's tumbled Rs 5,039.26 crore to Rs 8,58,956.4 crore.
The m-cap of HDFC Bank eroded by Rs 4,016.88 crore to Rs 6,26,837.10 crore and that of SBI dropped by Rs 3,391.35 crore to Rs 2,82,910 crore.
ITC suffered an erosion of Rs 2,513.02 crore to Rs 3,61,200.58 crore, while Kotak Mahindra Bank's valuation reduced by 82.09 crore to 2,54,783.55 crore.
In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL stood at number one position, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC, HUL, HDFC, Infosys, State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank.
During the week, the Sensex advanced by 182.32 points, or 0.48 per cent and the Nifty gained 42.05 points, or 0.36 per cent.

Expensive cars, jewellery to become cheaper as TCS to be out of GST working

In a relief to buyers of high-value cars and jewellery, the CBIC has said that the TCS amount would be excluded from the value of goods for computing GST liability.
Under the Income Tax Act, tax collection at source (TCS) is levied at 1 per cent on purchase of motor vehicles above Rs 10 lakh, jewellery exceeding Rs 5 lakh and bullion over Rs 2 lakh. TCS is also levied on other purchases at different rates.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in a circular said that the TCS amount would be excluded from the value of goods while computing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) liability.
Earlier in December, the CBIC had said that the TCS amount would also be included while ascertaining the GST liability on goods on which TCS is applicable under the I-T Act.
In view of the representations received from various stakeholders and after consultation with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the CBIC has decided to exclude the TCS amount paid while valuing the goods for the purpose to levy GST.
The CBDT has clarified that TCS is not a tax on goods but an interim levy on the possible "income" arising from the sale of goods by the buyer and to be adjusted against the final income-tax liability.
"For the purpose of determination of value of supply under GST, Tax collected at source (TCS) under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 would not be includible as it is an interim levy not having the character of tax," the CBIC said.
EY India Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said: "This clarification comes as quite a relief for businesses specifically the automotive sector. While most industry players already believed that GST should not be levied on the Income tax TCS component, given the otherwise clarification by the Government, they were quite apprehensive of litigation on this aspect".
AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said the erstwhile circular issued by the CBIC unnecessary complicated the mechanism of calculating GST where TCS-Income tax was also collected by the supplier.
"Recent corrigendum of CBIC eased the calculation process by breaking the circular referencing which would also result in marginally rationalising the tax payments (GST and income tax both)," Mohan said.

Eight of top 10 firms add Rs 53, 741 cr in m-cap; RIL, TCS biggest gainers

Eight of the 10 most valued Indian firms together added Rs 53,741.36 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and TCS becoming the biggest gainers.
Only ITC and HDFC from the top-10 list suffered losses in their market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week ended Friday. Others in the gainers list included HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Infosys, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank.
RIL's valuation jumped Rs 19,047.69 crore to Rs 8,09,669.50 crore.
The market cap of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) zoomed Rs 12,007.64 crore to Rs 7,74,023.16 crore and that of HDFC Bank advanced by Rs 8,569.51 crore to Rs 5,77,598.58 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank added Rs 7,144.3 crore to Rs 2,47,151.12 crore and HUL Rs 4,578.23 crore to Rs 3,93,403.30 crore.
The valuation of Infosys rose by Rs 1,441.65 crore to Rs 3,31,951.71 crore and that of State Bank of India (SBI) jumped Rs 669.35 crore to Rs 2,54,395.37 crore.
ICICI Bank added Rs 282.99 crore to reach Rs 2,28,644.74 crore.
On the other hand, ITC's valuation dropped Rs 6,063.49 crore to Rs 3,37,901.54 crore and that of HDFC fell by Rs 2,931.69 crore to Rs 3,34,256.62 crore.
In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL was at the number one position, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC, HDFC, Infosys, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank.
Over the last week, the Sensex gained 77.05 points to close at 36,546.48 on Friday.

Key takeaways from TCS Q3: Operating margin strong despite rupee volatility

Leading IT Services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) released its financial results for the third quarter (October-December period) of the current financial year 2018-19 (FY19) on Thursday. The company reported a double-digit revenue growth during the period led by BFSI and digital segments. Solid growth in the UK and Europe business, boosted performance, said the company.
The company said its performance had been good and its operating margins were resilient. "Despite headwinds from the Rupee volatility against various currencies, and the higher cost of doing business in some major markets, our operating margins have been resilient. We remain focused on driving rigor in our operations, generating strong cash flows and steering profitability back to our preferred range, while continuing to invest strongly for future growth," said V Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer.

Here's a look at the key takeaways from the IT major's Q3 results -
Financials
The Rajesh Gopinathan-led company reported a 20.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its revenue at Rs 37,338 crore while constant currency revenue grew 1.8 per cent QoQ and 12.1 per cent YoY. Operating margin came in at 25.6 per cent, a growth of 0.4 per cent YoY. Net income or PAT (profit after tax) rose 24.1 per cent YoY to Rs 8,105 crore. On QoQ basis, the figures grew 2.58 per cent. The company also announced an intertim dividend of Rs 4, record date of which has been set at January 18, 2019. January 24 has been fixed as the Payment date. Earnings per share (EPS) during the said period was at Rs 21.60, up 26.6 per cent YoY.
Global growth
Revenue growth accelerated in all the geographies compared to Q2, the company said in its press release. Growth was led by UK (up 25.1 per cent), Europe (up 17.6 per cent), and Asia Pacific (up 12.6 per cent). North America grew 8.2 per cent, India grew 9.7 per cent and Latin America grew 7.6 per cent.
Strong quarter for digital segment
TCS said loT (Internet of Things), TCS Interactive and Cyber Security had an exceptionally strong quarter.
- loT saw strong growth and deal wins around digital twin, fleet management and energy management solutions.
- TCS Interactive, also, saw significant offtake for digital content, digital channels and digital
commerce services, led by opportunities around simplification and automation of
MarTech stacks, seamless integration across the marketing ecosystem, and marketing
analytics.
- Cyber Security services saw strong growth around managed security services, identity and access management and governance risk and compliance.
Attrition and client addition
TCS added a total of 6,827 employees during the period, taking the total employee strength at the end of Q3 to 417,929 on a consolidated basis. The company continued to invest heavily in organic talent development. These initiatives resulted in employees logging a cumulative 14.2 million learning hours. Over 292K employees have now been trained in digital technologies, and over 318K employees in Agile methods, it said in its press release. The IT Services attrition rate (LTM) stood at 11.2 per cent.
Key deals
- It has been selected by a large Brazilian bank as the primary vendor for digital transformation and innovation leveraging TCS expertise in digital channels, user experience and design capabilities.
- Awarded a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract by a global hospitality chain to be the IT transformation partner.
- Engaged by a leading Malaysian oil and gas company as a consulting partner to design and deliver an enterprise visualization platform that provides visibility and greater business insights across the entire value chain. TCS will also offer digital learning-as-a-Service for managing organizational change and employee alignment to the transformation initiative.
"The company’s topline growth and margins were impacted by cross currency headwinds, poor performance in BFSI and higher employee cost. Going forward, we believe macro uncertainty could remain an overhang," said ICICIdirect in its note post result announcement.

TCS, Infy results, US-China talks, rupee to move markets this week: Experts

Quarterly earnings from TCS and Infosys, movement of the rupee and developments surrounding the US-China trade talks will guide the domestic equity indices this week, say experts.
Macroeconomic data related to inflation and industrial production will also be tracked by participants, they added.

"Markets will look forward to the US-China trade talks and Q3 results season starting this week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

IT majors TCS and Infosys will kick-start the earnings season later this week.
"A key trigger for the market will be GST meet and another round of cuts in tax rates on many of the items. Not just that, we have TCS lined up with earnings along with Infosys, IndusInd Bank.
"So, all in all a lot of big names will be driving the cues for its sector and will be watched critically. Post that, manufacturing numbers, industrial production and inflation. It will be a volatile week but certainly where we may see some directional move," said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research.
The GST Council is slated to meet on January 10.
Besides, movement in the rupee, crude oil and investment trend by overseas investors would influence the trading sentiment, analysts said.
According to V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Markets Group, HDFC Securities, "On the economic front, this week data to watch out for is industrial production numbers."
Global markets rose Friday after China announced new trade talks with the US.
A US government delegation will visit China early this week for the first face-to-face talks since President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed on a temporary truce in the trade war.
Over the last week, the Sensex fell 381.62 points, or 1.05 per cent.

6 of top valued cos take Rs 740.3 bn m-cap hit; TCS leads with Rs 251.4 bn

The combined market valuation of six of the 10 most valued Indian companies declined by Rs 740.34 billion last week, led by IT major TCS which took the largest hit of Rs 251.40 billion.
For the trading week ended Thursday, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), TCS, HUL, Infosys, SBI and ICICI Bank witnessed a decline in their market capitalisation (m-cap), while HDFC Bank, ITC, HDFC and Maruti Suzuki India were on the gainer's side.
Stock markets were closed Friday for 'Gurunanak Jayanti'.
The market valuation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) slumped Rs 251.40 billion to Rs 6811.5 billion at close on Thursday.
The m-cap of RIL dropped Rs 15,614.92 crore to Rs 6990. 4 billion and that of Infosys by Rs 131.03 billion to Rs 2710.3 billion .
ICICI Bank's valuation tumbled Rs 99.18 billion to Rs 2266.07 billion and that of SBI went down by Rs 68.71 billion to Rs 2522.08 billion .
The m-cap of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) fell by Rs 34.8 billion to Rs 3625.08 billion.
On the other hand, ITC added Rs 51.92 billion to Rs 3433.74 billion in its m-cap.
Maruti's valuation advanced by Rs 23.53 billion to Rs 2238.39 billion and that of HDFC Bank rose by Rs 18.99 billion to Rs 5450.35 billion.
The m-cap of HDFC went up by Rs 17.54 billion to Rs 3.21 trillion.
In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL stood at number one place followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, ITC, HDFC, Infosys, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and Maruti in that order.
Over the last week, the BSE 30-share index fell by 476.14 points to close at 34,981.02 on Thursday.