TCS To Buy Back ₹ 16,000-Crore Shares, September Quarter Profit Up 7%

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – the country’s largest software services company – on Wednesday announced a buyback of shares worth up to ₹ 16,000 crore. The buyback comes at a time when TCS parent Tata Sons is engaged in a fight with one of its oldest shareholders, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which recently said “a separation from the Tata Group is necessary”. The IT major also reported a net profit of ₹ 7,475 crore in the July-September period, missing analysts’ estimates.

1. In a regulatory filing after market hours, the IT bellwether said its board approved a plan to buy back 5.33 crore shares of the company at ₹ 3,000 apiece, amounting to 1.42 per cent of its paid-up equity capital, subject to shareholders’ approval.
2. TCS reported a net profit of ₹ 7,475 crore in the July-September period, marking a rise of 6.66 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
3. “Driving accelerated business value realization of our customers’ digital investments has resulted in broad-based revenue growth. The strong order book, a very robust deal pipeline, and continued market share gains give us confidence for the future,” said Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO and managing director, TCS.
4. Analysts on average had expected a profit of ₹ 7,805 crore, news agency Reuters reported citing Refinitiv data.
5. The company set aside ₹ 1,218 crore under exceptional items related to a US lawsuit.
6. Mumbai-based TCS reported a revenue from operations of ₹ 40,135 crore in the quarter ended September 30, as against Rs 38,322 crore in the April-June period, marking a sequential (quarter vs quarter) increase of 4.73 per cent.
7. Revenue in constant currency terms grew 4.8 per cent sequentially, and 7.2 per cent in dollar terms, the country’s second most valuable company said.
8. Tata Consultancy Services announced an interim dividend of ₹ 12 per share, payable on November 3.
9. “The timing of the buyback has been partly triggered due to the ongoing feud between Tata and the Mistry group, with the Mistry group looking to exit its Tata Sons holdings,” said Jyoti Roy, an analyst at Angel Broking. 
10. TCS shares ended 0.78 per cent higher at Rs 2,737.40 apiece on the BSE ahead of the announcement, in line with a 0.77 per cent gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex index. The stock registered a record high of Rs 2,769 during the session.