The country's third largest software services firm, HCL Technologies, on Tuesday reported a 19 percent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,611 crore for the third quarter ended December 2018.

CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 2,516 crore for the quarter under review.

In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 2,194 crore.

Its revenue is up 22.6 percent to Rs 15,699 crore, compared with Rs 12,808 crore in the December 2017 quarter.

The board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per equity share for the financial year 2018-19.

"Aided by a strong push on next-generation business, we continue to deliver value to all our stakeholders and remain at the forefront of supporting sustainability, diversity and inclusion for the industry," said Shiv Nadar, chairman and chief strategy officer, HCL Technologies.

"Our revenues grew 5.6 percent sequential in constant currency, reflecting strong execution across our entire suite of services and products. We crossed $1.5 billion run rate in our Mode 2 next generation offerings. We once again set a new bookings’ record this quarter. We are entering 2019 with a healthy growth outlook backed by the strong relevance of our propositions in the market," said C Vijayakumar, president and chief executive officer, HCL Technologies.

The company has maintained its FY19 revenue guidance between 9.5-11.5 percent in constant currency basis.

HCL Technologies added 13,191 people (gross) during the quarter to take its total headcount to 1,32,328 at the end of the December 2018 quarter. Attrition in the IT services business on the past 12-month basis was 17.8 percent.

First Published:Jan 29, 2019 4:06 PM IST