TCS revenue falls short as tariffs cast shadow on client spending

By Sai Ishwarbharath B and Haripriya Suresh

BENGALURU, July 10 (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services TCS.NS, India's top software-services exporter, missed quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday as its clients stayed cautious about non-essential spending amid tariff-related uncertainty.

The revenue shortfall at TCS, the first Indian tech major to report results, raised concerns about future demand for the country's $283 billion IT sector and dragged down U.S. listed shares of rivals Infosys INFY.NS and Wipro WIPR.NS.

"The trend of delays in decision-making and project starts with respect to discretionary spends has continued and intensified in this quarter," CEO K Krithivasan said on a conference call.

While it is "too early" to predict when growth will resume, the passage of the U.S. spending bill could provide some clarity by the end of July or early August, Krithivasan said.

Consolidated sales in the first quarter rose 1.3% to 634.37 billion rupees ($7.40 billion), missing analysts' average estimate of 646.66 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Uncertainty around U.S. tariffs has quashed IT companies' hopes of a revival in client confidence and spending in its biggest market. A survey in May showed two in five tech executives had deferred discretionary projects.

TCS's revenue in four out of its six verticals fell compared to the same period last year, while banking and financial services' revenue grew 1% and tech services rose 1.8%.

Its total order bookings stood at $9.4 billion during the quarter, versus $12.2 billion in the previous quarter and $8.3 billion in the year-ago period.

"The weak topline numbers highlight cautiousness among clients," said Sagar Shetty, research analyst at StoxBox.

"This theme would likely spill over to (other) tier 1 companies as well. Drag in deal wins also undermines revenue visibility, which might warrant revision in upper end of guidance (for other companies)," Shetty said.

HCLTech HCLT.NS, Infosys and Wipro report results later in July. U.S.-listed shares of Infosys fell 3.3%, while those of Wipro were down 4.2% as of 1920 IST.

TCS's net profit rose 6% to 127.60 billion rupees, while analysts expected 122.16 billion rupees. The profit beat was largely tied to a wage hike delay and a jump in other income.

($1 = 85.6690 Indian rupees)