India Tata Consultancy profit up 37 pct

India's top software company, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., said Monday profit in the April-June quarter rose 37 percent from a year ago, as new outsourcing contracts helped offset the impact of a stronger rupee and higher salaries.

Mumbai-based TCS said it won six customers, including a leading Asian telecommunications company, with contracts valued at more than $100 million each for the current financial year ending in March 2008. In all, the company added 54 new clients through the quarter, the company said in statement, without naming its customers.

"It has been a great performance for TCS in challenging times," said Chief Executive S. Ramadorai. "Despite factoring in wage hikes and an appreciating rupee, we have maintained profitability by great execution, demand creation."

The rupee's strength _ it rose about 6.6 percent through in quarter _ hurts companies like TCS that make most of their money from software and back-office work outsourced by Western countries, especially the United States.

Net profit rose to 11.86 billion rupees ($291 million) in the April-June quarter, up 37.4 percent from 8.63 billion rupees ($187 million) in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement. In dollar terms, however, profit growth was estimated at 55 percent.

Revenue rose to 52.03 billion rupees ($1.28 billion) from 41.44 billion rupees ($900 million), it said.

The earnings numbers, which conform to U.S. accounting standards, beat forecasts as analysts had expected a bigger impact on the company's margin because of the rupee's strength and salary hikes from 12 percent to 15 percent that came into effect in April.

"We have been able to sustain our net margin," Ramadorai said, adding the company was able to improve productivity and contain the changes in exchange rates through hedging.

Growing business in non-U.S. countries, especially in Britain and Asia, also helped the company offset the impact of a weak dollar.

Ramadorai said TCS was charging 3 percent to 5 percent more on new contracts. It added 5,512 new employees, taking its total staff close to 95,000, the company said.