HCL Tech’s Q3 net slips 11%, board declares interim dividend of ₹12 for FY26

HCL Tech, a Noida-based tech firm promoted by Shiv Nadar, on Monday posted third-quarter net profit of ₹4,076 crore, a 11% decline from ₹4,591 crore it reported a year earlier.

According to the company, the reason for the drop in net profit in Q3 was the one-time cost of implementation of new labour codes which had an impact of ₹956 crore ($109 million at EBIT and ₹719 crore ($82 milloin) at net income level).

The company’s revenue from operations stood at ₹33,872, a 13% rise over ₹29,890 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

HCL Tech CEO & Managing Director C. Vijayakumar, however, said it was another standout quarter on all fronts, with revenue growing at 4.2% QoQ in constant currency along with a strong recovery of operating margin to 18.6%.

“The strong revenue momentum in the quarter has enabled us to cross $15 billion in annualised revenue. We are well positioned to address evolving AI demand of our clients across industries and service lines,’’ he said while addressing a media conference.

He further said, the company’s new bookings were high at $3 billion (a 43% YoY increase); services revenue grew 1.8% QoQ in constant currency, driven by 19.9% QoQ growth in Advanced AI services. Also, HCL’s software revenue grew by 28.1% QoQ and 3.1% YoY in constant currency, driven by seasonality and data Intelligence portfolio, Mr. Vijayakumar added.

HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra said, AI continued to be a key growth driver across HCL’s portfolio. AI brought in a revenue of $146 million the quarter, up from $100 million in the previous quarter.

Shiv Walia, Chief Financial Officer, HCLTech said, Q3 EBIT margins, excluding the one-time impact of New Labour Codes, came in at 18.6% (up 111 bps QoQ). “Our dedicated efforts to improve cash conversion has yielded in NI (LTM basis) remaining healthy at 120% and we ended the quarter with our highest ever cash balance of ₹34,306 crore,’’ he claimed.

The company’s board declared an interim dividend of ₹12 per equity share for FY26 and the dividend would be paid to shareholders on January 27.

On FY26 guidance, the company management said it expected revenue growth to be between 4% and 4.5% YoY in CC terms while services revenue growth is expected to be between 4.75%and 5.25%. Also, EBIT margin is estimated to be in the range of 17-18 percent, excluding the one-time impact from the new labour laws.

HCL Tech management said the company added 2,852 freshers during Q3 FY26 and its LTM attrition stood at 12.4%, down from 13.2% in the same quarter last year. The tech firm reported a total headcount of 2,26,379 as on December 31, 2025.