The year 2014 is likely to be better for IT player Tech Mahindra compared to the last three years aided by improved deal pipeline and upbeat US business, vice chairman Vineet Nayyar told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. On business front Europe is striving to become more competitive and cost effective, so Indian IT companies will stand to benefit from that, he said.
He expects Mahindra Engineering Services (MES) merger to play a big role in growth going forward.
Meanwhile, commenting on V Balakrishnan, director and former CFO exit from Infosys, Nayyar said markets’ view on his exit is a bit exaggerated and one must disassociate individuals from well managed companies, and Infosys is a very well managed company.
Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview on CNBC-TV18
Q: How would you look at the exit of someone as big as Bala from Infosys? You manage a very important IT company, are big exits very negative for the company or do they actually galvanize the second run and bring out the best?
A: I think both views are bit exaggerated in the sense yes Bala is a loss, yes Bala had provided great leadership but Infosys is a large institution, it is a large corporation and there would be a number of people who could step into his shoes and grow into them. So I think market view is bit exaggerated. In large companies certain people become the symbol of the company and they represent the strength of the company but they are not the strength in themselves. So we need to dissassociate individuals from well managed companies and Infosys clearly is.
Q: We saw some positive numbers coming in from Accenture not just in terms of the numbers they reported, as well in terms of the deal pipeline. How do you smell the coffee for 2014, will there be an improvement in the deal pipeline? As well will you have more elbowroom on billing?
A: I am always very cautious, we will have to see how they pan out but things are looking better, they are looking better in US. Interestingly in Europe though the Greece growth rate is not high, it is less than 1 percent which is what is anticipated, we do believe that Europe is striving to become more competitive and more cost effective. And if it is doing that then obviously India is a destination which will benefit.
Of course Middle East because of the return of stability or perceived stability is doing very well and Asia has always been doing very well.
By and large if I were to look at it 2014 looks better than any of the last three-four years but I also know that a priori do not necessarily pan out into additional revenues or highly accelerated revenues. So I am keeping my fingers crossed, net-net things are looking good and let us see if we can cash on it.
Q: For the stock market or for IT investors they try to figure out relatively how is your company placed versus others in the order, in that sense in the quarter gone by Tech Mahindra has actually outperformed most of its peers, be it Infosys, be it HCL technologies or be it even Wipro with your dollar revenue growth of close to 5 percent, do you think that this outperformance versus most of your peers will continue in 2014 as well?
A: We don't give future guidance and I have no clue on how other companies were going to do so, how can I talk about we outperforming any one. But all I can commit to you and to the market and to my employees, we will do our best to do better or to do as good as possible
Q: Can you take us through the merger with Mahindra Engineering Services (MES) and what kind of synergies is Tech Mahindra expecting from that?
A: MES has some very good accounts which have been growing well, they have incredible expertise. So, the synergy between our engineering group and their existing engineering group is going to be very positive. I am really happy and excited with this merger.
Q: In the last quarter you reported some very good wins, you announced 13 deal wins in that quarter with a Turnkey Converged Billing (TCB) of USD 500 million. Will the coming quarters be even better than this?
A: There is only one thing which I always promise the market, we will do our best and things are looking good so let us see how it pans out.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
