TCS tops profit estimates on pandemic-led digitisation demand

India's Tata Consultancy Services Ltd topped quarterly profit estimates on Friday, boosted by growth in its key banking and financial services segment and a strong demand for digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's largest information technology exporter is the first among peers to report earnings for the second quarter, with investors looking at the bellwether to gauge the outlook for the sector that has had a stellar run in the past one year.

The Mumbai-based company's consolidated net profit rose 29% to 96.24 billion rupees ($1.28 billion) in the three months to Sept. 30, from 74.75 billion rupees a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 96.01 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

Consolidated revenue from operations jumped 16.8% to 468.67 billion rupees, with the company's banking and finance industries-focused unit posting a 14.3% rise compared with a year earlier.

TCS and rivals Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies have won large contracts over the last one year from businesses investing in services including cloud-computing, digital payment infrastructure, crypto platforms and cybersecurity.

TCS said it added five more customers in the $100 million-plus range in the quarter compared with a year earlier, bringing the total to 54.

The company also reappointed Rajesh Gopinathan as its chief executive officer and managing director for five years.