West Bengal is having a rerun of the Nano episode, but this time it doesn't want the lead actors to exit the stage prematurely. The government is ready for whatever manoeuvres it takes to retain Infosys and Wipro projects in the state.
In a major relief to Indian information technology (IT) companies operating in Australia, Canberra has agreed to amend its domestic laws to stop taxing offshore income of such Indian companies, as part of the free trade deal inked. This may lead to savings up to $200 million each year for over 100 Indian IT companies operating in Australia. "The Government of Australia has agreed to amend the domestic taxation law to stop the taxation of offshore income of Indian firms providing technical services to Australia. "This will resolve the issue that the Indian government has raised about the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) between the two governments for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income," said a commerce ministry official.
'It is a sign of a bigger problem which is coming in the next six months.'
Indian IT services companies have seen several CEO changes that have, over the past few months, led to some crucial exits at the mid-senior level in a trend that is likely to continue. According to a recent Motilal Oswal report, "Movement of mid-to-senior leadership at IT services firms is a reality, partially on account of multiple CEO-level changes.
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests.
They need to upgrade their skills and become smaller, smarter organisations, says Devangshu Datta.
Strong macroeconomic headwinds causing turbulence in the $245-billion Indian IT industry are yet to calm down. Top Indian IT services companies are likely to post a decline or just marginal growth in sequential revenue in Q1FY24 because of a soft discretionary spending environment. Though the first quarter is seasonally strong for IT firms, "June 2023 will be an exception", according to analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities.
India's third largest IT company HCL Technologies on Friday reported a flat year-on-year growth in net profit in the March quarter at Rs 3,986 crore. However, the company posted an 8.4 per cent decline in net profit on a sequential basis, amid rising employee cost and tightening IT spends around the world. The company described the performance as "decent" in view of the global macroeconomic conditions.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti, Infosys, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Titan, Reliance Industries, Wipro and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest gainers. Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India and Nestle were among the laggards.
Infosys forecast a 10.8-12.3 per cent sales growth in the US dollar terms for 2016-17.
Infosys chief Narayana Murthy has emerged India's most admired business leader, ahead of late Reliance chief Dhirubhai Ambani, Azim Premji of Wipro and noted industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla, in a survey conducted among management students.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, Nestle, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys were among the major gainers. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India were the major laggards.
Except for Satyam Computers, attrition rate went higher at Infosys, TCS and Wipro from both the previous quarter as well as the year-ago period.
Even as high attrition rates continue to haunt Infosys, the country's second-largest IT services firm is confident of bringing it down to 12-14 per cent in the next two quarters as it gets back to the growth trajectory.
From the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra emerged as the biggest gainer, climbing nearly 5 per cent. Power Grid, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Axis Bank, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints and Wipro were among the other major gainers. Maruti, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Sikka will take over from current Chief Executive SD Shibulal, one of the engineers who founded Infosys, on August 1.
IT firms Infosys and Mphasis on Tuesday said they will create employment for about 2,000 people, while Wipro will invest pound 16 million (about Rs 163 crore) in the UK over the next few years. The announcements were made ahead of the virtual summit between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Infosys said it plans to hire 1,000 workers in the UK over the next three years as part of efforts to support the country's economic recovery and growth.
Wipro was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 4.34 per cent, followed by HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Infosys, Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services and State Bank of India. Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Axis Bank, Nestle, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
To double revenues in four years; asks staff to 'think like a start-up', to brainstorm out-of-the-box ideas
Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty tumbled 1 per cent on Wednesday amid continuous foreign fund outflows and a weak trend in index majors Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 636.75 points or 1.04 per cent to settle at 60,657.45. During the day, it declined 700.64 points or 1.14 per cent to 60,593.56.
While Wipro leads the pack on absolute numbers, analysts for Infosys for reporting consistent growth, revising FY22 guidance and beating TCS on revenue growth.
Seven of the 10 most valued domestic companies together added Rs 1,31,173.41 crore in market valuation last week, with HUL and TCS emerging as the biggest gainers. Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Wipro also saw a rise in their market valuations, while HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI suffered losses. The market capitalisation (m-cap) of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) zoomed Rs 50,234.21 crore to Rs 6,15,016.63 crore.
Back home, the Nifty IT index - a gauge of the performance of the IT stocks on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) that has closely mirrored the performance of NASDAQ over the past few years - has lost nearly 2 per cent in CY23.
The Nifty IT has been one of the worst-performing indices on the bourses this calendar year. Rising concerns of a potential global recession, which investors fear can dampen demand for export-facing domestic information technology (IT) giants, have sent the index down over 30 per cent on a year-to-date basis. By comparison, the Nifty50 Index has shed 2.8 per cent during the period, reveals data by ACE Equity.
Large Indian IT services companies are expected to report "muted" sequential show in a traditionally strong second quarter, as macroeconomic challenges continue to weigh on global discretionary spending, say market watchers. The big earnings week for tech heavyweights is up ahead, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) scheduled to announce its results on October 11, and both Infosys and HCL Technologies on October 12. Wipro is slated to declare its Q2FY24 results next week, on October 18.
Stellar results compared to TCS led to reversal of valuation discount.
Nasdaq-listed information technology (IT) services firm Cognizant will incur the cost of $400 million over two years as it sets to restructure its operations amid sluggish growth rates. Its NextGen Program aims at simplifying the operating model, optimising corporate functions, and consolidating and realigning office space to reflect a post-pandemic hybrid work environment. As part of this structural shift, Cognizant will eliminate 80,000 seats, or 11 million square feet of real estate in large cities in India.
Benchmark indices continued their downtrend on Monday, with the Sensex falling 84.88 points, tracking selling in index majors Infosys and Reliance Industries along with weak global equities. The 30-share BSE benchmark went lower by 84.88 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 56,975.99 after recovering some lost ground during the fag-end of trade. During the day, it tanked 648.25 points or 1.13 per cent to 56,412.62. The NSE Nifty declined 33.45 points or 0.20 per cent to close at 17,069.10.
There are no major announcements in the Union Budget 2014-15.
From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance tanked 7.21 per cent. The other major laggards were Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Titan, Power Grid, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Bharti Airtel. ITC, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle and Larsen & Toubro were the major winners.
Participants are eyeing the Bihar elections.
Sixteen major contracts worth nearly $14 billion to be renewed by June 2018 but uncertainty looms large.
Market benchmarks fell for third day running on Monday and ended nearly 1 per cent lower amid weak trend in global equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 518.64 points or 0.84 per cent to settle at 61,144.84. During the day, it tumbled 604.15 points or 0.97 per cent to 61,059.33.
Operating margins have been the primary driver of corporate earnings in India in recent quarters, despite revenue growth suffering from weak consumer demand. Companies across sectors have reported a sharp improvement in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margins over the past two years, benefiting from lower commodity and energy prices. Higher margins more than compensated for slower revenue growth, resulting in double-digit growth in net profit for five consecutive quarters.
Most Indian IT firms work as system integrators for Huawei and though the exposure is very less as of now, the potential is more due to 5G roll out. As pressure to keep the Chinese firm out of the 5G network grows, other global firms, including Japan's NEC, South Korea's Samsung, Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericssion are increasing their investments to grab more market share in the telecom sector.
Benchmark indices ended in the green on Friday after falling for the past two days, helped by continuous buying from foreign institutional investors and a largely positive trend in Asian and European markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 113.95 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 60,950.36. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty ended 64.45 points or 0.36 per cent higher at 18,117.15.
Wipro was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, slipping nearly 2 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and Bajaj Finserv. On the other hand, Nestle, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints and Maruti were among the gainers.
Among the Sensex firms, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, ITC and HDFC Bank were the major laggards. HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Nestle, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro and Asian Paints were among the gainers.