India's HCL profit soars

India's fourth-largest software firm HCL on Wednesday posted a leap of 52 percent in quarterly net profit, beating expectations and giving an upbeat outlook despite global economic uncertainty. New Delhi-based HCL Technologies reported that net profit for the three months to June jumped to 5.11 billion rupees ($115.3 million) on revenues which grew 27.5 percent to 42.99 billion rupees. "The deal flows look very very exciting and attractive," said HCL chief executive Vineet Nayar at a news conference. The firm, which has a July to June fiscal year, said it was optimistic about its prospects, in contrast with rivals who have expressed concerns about the global economic climate and its impact on their balance sheets. Analysts had forecast net profit for HCL's final quarter of around 4.9 billion rupees. Growth in India's flagship outsourcing sector has been slowing recently due to fresh worries about the world economy, rising wages and top management restructuring at companies such as Infosys and Wipro. Nayar said while the macroeconomic climate looked "worrisome," the company expected growth to come from a "lot of churn in the marketplace" as clients turn to HCL because of dissatisfaction with their current service providers.