India's Coforge posts Q2 profit beat as deal wins remain intact

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian IT solutions provider Coforge Ltd reported a 37% rise in second-quarter profit on Thursday, beating analysts' estimates, as it won more orders, including large deals.

The company's profit of 2.01 billion Indian rupees ($24.3 million) in the quarter was higher than analysts' expectation of 1.97 billion rupees, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The IT services provider said revenue from operations surged 24.8% year-over-year to 19.59 billion rupees, boosted by big orders from insurance, banking and financial services companies.

India's outsourcing industry has made billions of dollars in revenue since the onset of the pandemic by digitising IT infrastructures for various American and European businesses, which have adopted remote or hybrid working policies.

Coforge said it signed two deals worth over $30 million during the quarter, after securing two large deals, including one worth over $50 million, in the previous quarter.

The company's orders intake stayed above $300 million for the third consecutive quarter, clocking $304 million in the latest three-month period.

India's top-tier IT companies have given cautious forecasts so far amid the economic uncertainty globally.

While No.1 Tata Consultancy Services said clients are taking longer to decide on bigger deals, Infosys tightened its full-year forecast and Wipro gave a disappointing current-quarter outlook.

Coforge's attrition fell 160 basis points sequentially in the latest quarter and its headcount was 22,991 as of Sept. 30.

The company's shares have fallen about 35% this year through Thursday's close. ($1 = 82.6180 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)