Q4 results highlights: HCLTech net profit falls 8% QoQ; CEO Vijayakumar holds optimistic view for FY25

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--Fresher hiring numbers in FY25 will be similar to FY24
--Gen AI deal contribution to overall revenue is still very small. So can't call out Gen AI revenue separately: CEO Vijayakaumar

"This is one of the years we have bucked the trend of adding headcount in the year".

"The Software business had picked in the December quarter which led to near 20 percent margin. In the fourth quarter, we saw seasonality".

Anil Ganjoo, Chief Growth Officer, Americas, stated, "HCLTech has reported industry-leading growth in Telecom despite challenges in the sector. TMT reported highest ever performance in FY24, driven by the Verizon deal".

"We continue to remain optimistic of the opportunities ahead of us. Some of the large deals we won will move into a global delivery model in FY25 which will reduce revenue. The macro-environment, we are assuming, will be similar to FY24. We have a balanced portfolio which will deliver in any economic scenario".

"With $2.9 billion of new deal wins in Q4, we had a good quarter. We had phenomenal growth in Cloud migration and cybersecurity this year. The top performing verticals were financial services - which grew 12.1 percent year on year. The second half of the growth was driven by the Telecom vertical, aided by ASAP acquisition".

--SBI Cards and Payment Services reported an 11.05 percent rise in its net profit at Rs 662.37 crore in the March quarter of the financial year (FY) 2023-24, from Rs 596.47 crore recorded in the year-ago period.

--The company's Gross NPA and Net NPA as of March 31, 2024 is 2.76 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively, as compared to 2.35 percent and 0.87 percent, respectively as of March 31, 2023.

--It holds total expected credit loss on loan balances of Rs 1,766.64 crores, as compared to Rs 1,360.64 crores
as of March 31 , 2023.

--Revenue from operations increased 15.6 percent on year to Rs 4,347.72 crore from Rs 3,762.1 6 crore in Q4 FY23.

--Eveready reported consolidated net profit of Rs 8 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, 2024. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 14 crore in the year-ago period.

--Revenue from operations declined nearly 2 percent to Rs 281 crore from Rs 286 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

--The board announced dividend of Rs 1 per share for the financial year 2023-2024.

--Eveready Industries India Limited deals with dry cell batteries, rechargeable batteries, flashlights, and lighting products.

--Net fresher addition in Q4 stood at 3,096 freshers. For the full year, HCLTech added 12,141 freshers.

--The company's total headcount in Q4 was 227,481. It added 1,537 employees YoY in FY24.

--HCLTech’s attrition in the last 12-month (LTM) basis for Q4 stood at 12.4 percent compared to the 12.8 percent reported last quarter. This is the lowest attrition for the company since the COVID-19 quarter in 2021.

--On the contrary, all the other top 5 Indian IT services peers have reported a decline in both sequential and full year headcount in FY24, in a record development.

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“HCLTech’s FY24 performance underlines the resilience of our business model with Revenue at INR 109,913 Cr, growing 8.3%. We delivered this industry leading growth with EBIT at 20,027 Cr, up 8.4%. Net Income (NI) for the year came in at ₹ 15,702 crores, up 5.7%, translating to an EPS of ₹ 57.86. Our Board is pleased to declare ₹ 18/share as the Dividend for the quarter, bringing the total to ₹ 52/share for FY24, which is 90% of the EPS. Our razor-sharp focus on cash generation resulted in OCF/NI coming at 143% and FCF/NI at 136%. We continue to expand ROIC, with the Company’s ROIC up 341 bps YoY at 33.8% and Services’ ROIC up 430 bps YoY at 41.6%.”

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, said, "Led by a differentiated portfolio, HCLTech continues to grow despite
global economic and geopolitical headwinds. Our focus on doing business sustainably and responsibly is sharper than ever as we scale our community initiatives beyond India."

“HCLTech continues to lead the industry in FY24 with good USD revenue growth of 5.4% YoY during challenging times through our strong commitment to our clients and our people. More importantly, we have translated this growth into even higher value creation for our shareholders with our OCF coming at US$ 2,711 Mn, up 21.6% YoY and FCF at US$ 2,584 Mn, up 27.7% YoY. As we look ahead, global enterprise technology spend will only grow with adoption of AI. We are well positioned to capitalize with our AI led propositions, Global delivery model and ideal mix of technology services and products.”

--Constant Currency (CC) Revenue up 0.3% QoQ & up 6.0% YoY
--USD Revenue of US$ 3,430 Mn, up 0.4% QoQ & up 6.0% YoY
-- Services CC Revenue up 3.0% QoQ & up 6.7% YoY led by growth in Telecommunications, Media, Publishing & Entertainment (up 21.6% QoQ & up 39.2% YoY)
--Digital CC Revenue up 6.3% YoY; contributes 37.1% of Services
-- HCLSoftware ARR at US$ 1.02 Bn, up 0.7% YoY CC

--Total headcount at 227,481; Net addition: 2,725
--Added 3,096 freshers
-LTM Attrition at 12.4%, (down from 19.5% in Q4 of last year)

--Company CC Revenue growth expected to be between 3.0% - 5.0% YoY
--Services CC Revenue growth expected to be between 3.0% - 5.0% YoY
--EBIT margin expected to be between 18.0% - 19.0%

--HCLTech board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 18 per equity share for the financial year 2024-25.
--The record date of May 7, 2024 has been fixed for the payment of the aforesaid interim dividend.
--The payment date shall be May 15, 2024

--IT services major HCLTechnologies reported flat net profit at Rs 3,986 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, 2024. The firm had reported a net profit of Rs 3,983 crore in the year-ago period.

--Sequentially, the net profit declined 8 percent from Rs 4,350 crore from Q3FY24.

--Revenue from operations increased 7 percent to Rs 28,499 crore from Rs 26,606 crore in the previous fiscal.

--Shares of HCLTech on April 26 closed 1.79 percent lower at Rs 1,476.80 apiece on BSE ahead of earnings report.

--IT services major HCL Technologies is expected to report a tepid Q4, with flattish revenues quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

--Its products and platforms (P&P) business is expected to drag down its earnings, even as the services business is expected to provide some succour.

--The fall in the high-margin P&P business would also hit HCLTech's fourth quarter net profit.

--SBI Life Insurance on reported a net profit of Rs 810 crore for the March quarter, up 4 percent from the year-ago period.

--The insurer's net premium income came in at Rs 25,116 crore against Rs 19,896 crore last year. The solvency ratio stood at 1.96 percent versus 2.15 percent last year.

--The insurer also declared a dividend of Rs 2.7 per share.

--The stock closed at Rs 1418.90 apiece on BSE, nearly 1.74 percent down from the previous close.

--"We expect the rail transportation of cars to increase rapidly" in the coming years, says MSIL Chairman R.C. Bhargava

--"I strongly believe that the new government which is coming up in less than 2 months will propel the economy to phenomenal levels."

--Maruti sold a total of 584,031 vehicles during the Quarter, higher by 13.4% compared to Q4FY23.
--In the quarter, the sales volume in the domestic market stood at 505,291 units, up by 12.2% over that in Q4FY2023-24.
--The sales volume in the export market was at 78,740 units, a growth of 21.7% over exports of 64,719 units in Q4FY2022-23.
--Registered net sales of INR 366,975 million against INR 308,218 million in
the same period of the previous year.
-- Company registered highest ever unit sales, net sales, and net profit both for the quarter and the financial year.

Maruti said that its board has recommended highest-ever dividend of Rs 125 per share (face value of Rs 5 per share) compared to Rs 90 per share in FY 2022-23.

--Annual sales volume surpasses 2 million units
--Top exporter of passenger vehicles in India for the 3rd consecutive year

--India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported a surge of 48 percent in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,878 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, 2024. The automaker had a net profit of Rs 2,624 crore in the year-ago period.

--Revenue from operations increased 19 percent to Rs 38,235 crore on back of sharp rise in volumes and a greater mix of premium Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) in sales. The revenue in Q4FY23 was Rs 32,048 crore.

--Maruti's earnings missed Street estimates. As per Moneycontrol poll of nine brokerage estimates, Maruti was expected to see net profit rise to Rs 3,916 crore, up almost 50 percent from the year-ago period and revenue to jump 21 percent to Rs 38,772 crore.

--Shares of Maruti Suzuki on April 26 were closed 1.16 percent lower at Rs 12,755.95 apiece on BSE post earnings report.

--The overall performance has been stable QoQ, says Raamdeo Agrawal of Motilal Oswal to CNBC-TV18.
--Operating performance has improved in FY24 and revenues have increased 33%
--There is a fundamental shift in the telecom sector
--New management team has come in from the housing finance segment
--Drag in the housing finance company will see an improvement now

--Shares of Motilal Oswal on April 25 were trading 3.56 percent higher at Rs 2,551.10 apiece on BSE minutes before closing bell on news of firm issuing bonus shares in the ratio 3:1.

--MOSL said its board has approved issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 3:1, subject to the approval of the shareholders and other statutory/regulatory approvals, consents, permissions, conditions, and sanctions, as may be necessary

--Motilal Oswal reported 339 percent surge in net profit at Rs 724.6 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, 2024 mainly on low-base effect. The firm had posted a net profit of Rs 165 crore in the year-ago period.

--Revenue from operations surged 108 percent to Rs 2,141 crore in the quarter under review against Rs 1,027 crore.

--EBITDA rises to Rs 1,231.5 cr vs Rs 443.7 cr (YoY) whille margin increases to 57.5% vs 43.2% (YoY)

--Fair Value gain at Rs 423.7 cr vs loss of Rs 39.9 cr (YoY)

--MOSL said its board has approved issuance of bonus shares in the ratio of 3:1, subject to the approval of the shareholders and other statutory/regulatory approvals, consents, permissions, conditions, and sanctions, as may be necessary.

--Net profit at Rs 567 crore, up 4 percent year on year
--Net interest income at Rs 1476 crore, up 11 percent year on year
--NIM at 5.09 percent, down 39 basis points year on year
--Asset quality worsens, GNPA at 1.47 percent up from 1.26 percent last year, NNPA at 0.51 percent, up from 0.35 percent last year

Shriram Finance reported 49 percent jump in net profit at Rs 1,946 crore for the quarter ended 31 March, 2024. The insurance company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,308 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue from operations increased 22 percent to Rs 9,484 crore for quarter under review as against Rs 7,756 crore.

Board recommended a final dividend of Rs15 per equity share for the financial year ended March 31, 2024

Shares of Shriram Finance on April 26 were trading 1 percent down at Rs 2,468.60 apiece on BSE post its earnings report.

--The Maruti Suzuki India Limited fell 2 percent in the afternoon trade on April 26, ahead of its fourth quarter result announcement later in the day.

--At around 2 pm, the stock was trading at Rs 12,760, down 1.3 percent from the previous close. The stock has rallied over 24 percent since January, outperforming Nifty’s 3 percent gain.

--India's largest car manufacturer is expected to report a net profit rise of Rs 3,916 crore, up almost 50 percent from the year-ago period, a Moneycontrol poll of nine brokerages has estimated. Revenue is expected to jump 21 percent to Rs 38,772 crore.

Shares of Bajaj Finserv were trading 3.49 percent lower at Rs 1,598 apiece on BSE post Q4 earnings report.

--Bajaj Finserv Ltd reported a 20 percent on-year rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,119 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24, on the back of strong growth clocked by Bajaj Finance Ltd.

--The company's total consolidated income rose 35.6 percent on-year to Rs 32,041.93 crore.

--The holding entity of Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv's net interest income increased 28 percent in the March quarter to Rs 8,013 crore from Rs 6,254 crore in in a similar period.

--Bajaj Finserv board recommended a dividend of Re. 1 per equity share of face value of Re.1, for the financial year ended 31 March 2024

Shares of Shriram Finance were down 4.39 percent at Rs 2,384.10 apiece ahead of Q4 earnings announcement.

--Provisions and contingencies fall to Rs 942 crore versus Rs 945 crore in year-ago period.
--Provisions for NPA falls to Rs 457 crore versus Rs 545 crore
--Net NPA at 0.20%
--Goss NPA at 1.88%

Shares of Bank of Maharashtra on April 26 traded 2.24 percent higher at Rs 66.70 apiece on BSE after earnings report.

--Net profit up 45 percent YoY to Rs 1,218 crore.The bank had reported a profit of Rs 840 crore last year.

--The lender also declared a dividend of Rs 1.4 per equity share of Rs 10 face value.

--The board also approved raising capital up to Rs 7,500 crore.

--March-quarter gross NPA at 1.88%

--SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd is likely to report a mixed bag of Q4 financial results with the key measure of premium income seen rising nearly 15 percent on-year, but value of new business is expected to moderate.

--Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) is expected to grow nearly 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 5,227 crore, according to the average of four brokerage estimates compiled by Moneycontrol.

--Bajaj Finserv, the holding entity of Bajaj Finance, is expected to clock up to 25.3 percent on-year revenue growth at Rs 29,604 crore in Q4 from Rs 23,625 crore a year-ago, driven by lending business, said analysts.

--The non-bank lender's profit-after-tax (PAT), too, is expected to see a jump of up to 33.3 percent YoY to Rs 2,357 crore in Q4FY24 from Rs 1,769 crore in Q4FY23.

EBITDA is expected to expand 43 percent on-year to Rs 5,047 crore. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The impressive EBITDA growth would be led by the higher share of SUV sales, price hikes, raw material benefits, and favourable forex movement, said Axis Securities.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki on April 25 were trading 1.15 percent down at Rs 12,758 apiece on BSE around 12:30 pm. The stock has risen 4 percent since the last one month. Earlier this month, the stock hit an all-time high of Rs 12,954.75.

--HCL Technologies is expected to report a net profit of Rs 4,054.71 crore in Q4 FY24, down 6.78 percent QoQ, according to the average estimate of seven brokerages.

--The company is expected to clock revenues of Rs 28,552.64 crore, up only 0.37 percent QoQ.

--Its EBIT margin may fall 152 basis points (bps) QoQ, to 18.18 percent.

--India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki is likely to report robust Q4 financial results, driven by a sharp rise in volumes and a greater mix of premium Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) in sales.

--Maruti is expected to see its fiscal fourth-quarter net profit rise to Rs 3,916 crore, up almost 50 percent from the year-ago period, according to a Moneycontrol poll of nine brokerage estimates. Revenue from operations is expected to jump 21 percent to Rs 38,772 crore.