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Informist, Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2026

 

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--HCL Tech: Revenue impacted by delay in procurement decisions in March 
--CONTEXT: Comments by HCL Tech management in post-earnings press conference 
--HCL Tech: Co's deal pipeline remains robust, broad-based 
--HCL Tech: Aim to reinvest currency depreciation gains into AI capabilities 
--HCL Tech: Recruited 11,744 freshers in FY26 
--HCL Tech: Did not factor in contribution from Jaspersoft in FY27 guidance 
--HCL Tech: Finergic acquisition to have minute revenue contribution in FY27 
--HCL Tech: Fresher hiring in FY27 expected to be on similar lines as FY26 
--HCL Tech: Have two client-specific situations involving ramp-downs FY27 
--HCL Tech: See potential for advanced AI revenue to grow 30% for some time

 

NEW DELHI – Information technology major HCL Technologies Ltd.'s hiring of freshers in the financial year 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) is expected to be along similar lines as in FY26, the management told a post-earnings press conference Tuesday.

 

In the March quarter, the company added 1,712 freshers to take its overall tally for FY26 to 11,744. "...our overall approach to hiring entry-level talent, we did articulate at the beginning of last year that we want to build a cadre of elite engineers. That approach is working well. If I look back at FY26, it has worked well and we will continue to do that," Chief People Officer Ramachandran Sundararajan said.

 

For the March quarter, the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 44.88 billion, up 10% on quarter and 4.2% on year. Its revenue for the quarter was almost flat on quarter but grew 12.4% on year to INR 339.81 billion.

 

Apart from the sequential decline in the software business due to seasonality, the company saw a delay in procurement decisions in March that resulted in revenue coming below its expectations, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director C. Vijayakumar said. "Our services performance this quarter came in at a lower end of our expectations," he said. "This was primarily driven due to reduction in discretionary spending on telecom as well as discontinuation of two SAP programmes which happened late in the quarter."

 

While annuity programmes in telecommunications held steady, the company saw select clients scaling back discretionary investments across digital business and engineering services during the March quarter. The management said some of this impact is likely to carry into the next quarter as well and has been factored into its guidance.

 

Going forward, HCL Tech expects its top line to grow between 1% and 4% in constant currency in FY27. It expects the earnings before interest and tax margin to be between 17.5% and 18.5%. In this, contribution from the recently acquired wealth consulting firm Finergic Solutions is likely to be very small, according to the management.

 

On the revenue contribution from announced acquisitions of Jaspersoft and the telecom solutions business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the management said both acquisitions are awaiting clearances. "So there is a little uncertainty as to when the clearance will come because some of this is dependent on US government approvals," it said. "So right now we have not factored in anything."

 

The management said the company's business fundamentals remain strong, but it is facing two client-specific challenges in the Americas market that may have a negative impact of approximately 50 basis points on growth in FY27. "These clients are navigating their own business pressures in the current macro environment and have scaled back their IT and business operations spending," it said.

 

Overall, Vijayakumar said HCL Tech's deal pipeline is robust and broad-based across segments, verticals, and regions, with artificial intelligence becoming increasingly integral to almost all conversations. He expects 25-30% year-on-year growth in the company's advanced AI revenues for some time to come.

 

In the March quarter, the company's annualised advanced AI revenues reached $155 million, up from $146 million in the trailing quarter. "As we navigate specific growth challenges in FY27, we intend to reinvest the benefits of currency depreciation into strengthening our AI capabilities and our sales engine," the management said.

 

Tuesday, shares of HCL Tech closed 0.9% higher at INR 1,441.20 on the National Stock Exchange. The company announced its March quarter earnings after market hours.   End

 

US$1 = INR 93.50

 

Reported by Shakshi Jain and Astha Oriel

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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