Early birds: IT firms take the lead in strong Q3 show

Driven by stunning numbers from IT majors, especially TCS and Infosys, as also a good set of results from HDFC Bank, earnings from the early birds have been strong. Expenditure for the sample of 61 companies and banks rose at a much slower pace than revenues resulting in a big jump in operating profit margins. India Inc had cut costs sharply in Q1 and Q2 as revenue growth was very muted.

Commentary from the managements at IT firms post the Q3 results has been more than encouraging; most believe the deal pipeline will continue to be strong and that they are well-positioned to exploits segments like digital and cloud. Avenue Supermarts posted better-than-expected revenue growth of 10% y-o-y on near-normal store operations and festive demand.