TCS to consider a proposal for buyback of shares – Mint

“Pursuant to Regulation 29(1 )(b) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, this is to inform you that the Board of Directors will consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares of the Company, at its meeting to be held on January 12, 2022,” TCS said in a filing.

TCS will also declare its financial results for the quarter ending 31 December on 12 January.

On Friday, TCS shares closed 1.35% higher at ₹3,858.90 on NSE. In the last one year, the scrip has surged by 23.65%.

The TCS board will also consider declaration of third interim dividend to the equity shareholders during the board meeting.

TCS said the third interim dividend, if declared, will be paid to the equity shareholders of the company whose names appear on the register of members of the company or in the records of the depositories as beneficial owners of the shares as on Thursday, January 20, 2022, which is the record date fixed for the purpose.

After a strong forecast and record deal pipeline from IT bellwether company Accenture, all eyes are on the Indian IT heavyweights’ December quarter performance with results announcement just days away.

Markets are penciling in a robust guidance from Indian IT companies that may reflect in upcoming quarterly results.

“For TCS, which generates huge free cash flows like other IT companies, share buyback is the most tax-efficient option to reward its shareholders and management compared to the dividend route,” said Ajay Bodke, an independent market analyst. “The buy back of shares lifts scarcity value of shares and hence the price gets impacted positively.”

Bloomberg Intelligence senior technology industry analyst Anurag Rana wrote on Jan 5 that TCS’ third quarter earnings could top expectations of 14% sales growth by about 300 basis points. Accenture’s results on Dec. 16 showed record bookings, and Rana expects TCS to echo this.

For the September quarter, TCS had reported a consolidated net profit of ₹9,624 crore, an increase of 29% from ₹7,475 crore clocked in the year-ago period.

However, on a sequential basis, the profit after tax (PAT) rose nearly 7%. In the June quarter, the IT heavyweight posted a net profit of ₹9,008 crore.

Its revenue from operations rose 17% to ₹46,867 crore in the reporting period. It was ₹40,135 crore in the same quarter last year. The revenue growth in constant currency was at 15% over last year.

Meanwhile, Wipro Ltd’s board will meet on 11-12 January to declare their results and also the company will consider announcing an interim dividend on 12 January for the current financial year 2021-22.