The shares of HCL Technologies tumbled 7.24 per cent to reach an intraday low of ₹ 1021.60 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday. This happened following the news that the company had reduced its revenue growth guidance.
The company said during a US analyst meeting held on December 08, 2022, that its constant currency revenue growth in FY23 will be at the lower end of 13.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent. It said that the December quarter will see higher than expected furloughs with BFSI and hi-tech being problem areas.
HCL Technologies reported its Q2FY23 earnings in mid-October. At the time, its management had upgraded its guidance to 13.5 to 14.5 per cent from the previous range of 12-14 per cent. It reported a 7.05 per cent increase in its net profit to ₹ 3489 crores from ₹ 3259 crores reported a year ago. Its revenue from operations stood at ₹ 24,686 crores, representing a 19.5 per cent growth over ₹ 20,655 crores in the corresponding quarter last year.
The news of the downgraded outlook from the IT giant’s management also dented the sentiment amongst other IT majors. The Nifty IT index was down 3.31 per cent on Friday. Companies like Infosys, Mphasis, Tech Mahindra, Persistent Systems, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, L&T Technology Services, and Coforge shed 1-3.2 per cent in Friday’s intraday session.
In the meanwhile, analysts from Credit Suisse expect India’s top four IT companies to witness a 10 to 27 per cent valuation-led correction, with HCL Technologies likely to be the worst hit. They believe that there is a high risk of revenue cut for the financial year 2024, in case growth in the US slows down further.
Most Indian IT companies derive a majority of their revenue from North American markets, particularly the US and Credit Suisse said that GDP projections are on a downward trajectory and further cuts cannot be ruled out. It added that revenue downgrades are expected, but they expect only a 2-4 per cent cut in EPS for a 2 per cent constant currency revenue for FY24.
Credit Suisse added that Indian IT stocks are currently trading at a 34 per cent premium to their 1-year pre-Covid average. Based on this it sees HCL Tech to be at a high risk of a 20 per cent plus valuation correction.
Written by Simran Bafna
