INDIA’S Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday (Jan 9) reported a lower-than-expected profit for the third quarter, as clients tightened spending amid a challenging macro-economic environment that prompted the country’s top IT exporter to reduce its workforce.

TCS is the first among its peers to report quarterly earnings, setting the tone for the industry, which had been riding a pandemic-led boom in demand.

The company also said it would pay shareholders a special dividend of 67 rupees a share on top of an interim dividend of 8 rupees.

Consolidated net profit for the three months ended Dec 31 rose to 108.46 billion Indian rupees (S$1.8 billion) from 97.69 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said in an exchange filing.

Analysts on an average expected a profit of 110.46 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

The Mumbai-based company’s order book for the October-December period stood at US$7.8 billion, down from US$8.1 billion in the September quarter.

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Market participants are keenly watching TCS for signals on the demand outlook for the sector, which is staring at the possibility of a recession in the US and Europe from where it draws a bulk of its revenue.

The Tata Group flagship said its employee count reduced by 2,197 on a net basis to 613,974 as on Dec 31.