HCL Tech shares climb 3%; hit 52-week high after Q3 earnings

New Delhi: Shares of HCL Technologies climbed 3 per cent on Monday after the company reported a 6.2 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,350 crore in the December quarter.

The net profit was the highest ever on a quarterly basis, and was driven by growth in both services and software businesses.

The stock ended 2.90 per cent higher at Rs 1,587.70 apiece on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 4.83 per cent to reach its 52-week high of Rs 1,617.65.

On the NSE, it advanced 3 per cent to Rs 1,588. During the day, it rallied 5.11 per cent to Rs 1,619.60 -- its 52-week high.

The company's market valuation climbed from Rs 12,130.09 crore to Rs 4,30,848.61 crore.

IT stocks were in the limelight, with Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and Tata Consultancy Services rising sharply during the day.

The BSE IT index climbed 1.79 per cent to 37,785.92.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,096 crore in the same period a year ago, HCL Tech said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

The consolidated revenue of HCL Tech grew 6.5 per cent to Rs 28,446 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 26,700 crore in the year-ago period.

"Our results this quarter have been remarkably strong with a revenue growth of 6 per cent on quarter-on-quarter in constant currency, driven by strong momentum in services and software businesses.

"We delivered a stellar operating margin of 19.8 per cent, a 126 bps (basis points) improvement quarter-on-quarter and 16 bps improvement year-on-year," HCL Tech CEO and Managing Director C Vijayakumar told reporters.

The company has projected a revenue growth in the range of 5-5.5 per cent in the current fiscal on a year-on-year basis.