Indian IT service firms world's most profitable

You always knew that Indian software services companies would make it big. But the latest study of the National Association of Software Service Companies (Nasscom), the apex industry body, shows just how big they have become.

The top five slots in the global list of information technology services companies with the highest operating profit margins are held by Indian firms: Infosys being the leader, followed by HCL Technologies, Satyam Computers, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.

They lead the likes of Cognizant Technologies, EDS, KPMG and Accenture.

Infosys, rated as the most profitable information technology services company in the world, has an operating profit margin of 32.1 per cent.

HCL Tech, in the second position, has a margin of 28.1 per cent, Satyam 26.7 per cent, TCS 25 per cent, followed by Wipro with 24.5 per cent.

In contrast, EDS has an operating profit margin of only 10.3 per cent and Accenture of 3.9 per cent.

They are ranked seventh and eleventh, respectively, on this count.

Indian companies also figure in the global top 10 list when it comes to manpower strength and revenues.

TCS is the world's fourth largest employer in this sector, followed by Wipro in the fifth position, Infosys sixth, and Satyam eighth.

TCS has an employee base of close to 19,000.

The other Indian companies in this league are Wipro with an employee strength of 13,800, Infosys 10,470, and Satyam 9,532.

HCL Technologies, which occupies the eleventh slot, has 5,587 employees.

In terms of revenues, the Indian information technology services companies figure prominently, with TCS (revenues of $810 million, or approximately Rs 4,000 crore) in the seventh position, followed by Wipro, Infosys, Satyam and HCL Tech occupying the eighth, nine, tenth and eleventh positions, respectively.

Wipro's revenues for the previous four quarters up to June 30, 2002, were around $734 million (Rs 3,700 crore), Infosys' $571 million (Rs 2,800 crore), and Satyam's around $421 million (Rs 2,100 crore).

The global information technology majors were far ahead in revenue, with EDS clocking a revenue of $22.3 billion (Rs 1,10,000 crore), Accenture $11.6 billion (Rs 57,000 crore) and CSC $11.5 billion (approximately Rs 56,500 crore).