Lack of revenue visibility had held back Tech Mahindra’s hiring plans

Flagging improved visibility into its revenue outlook, Tech Mahindra’s CEO and Managing Director, Mohit Joshi, said the company’s campus hiring programme will restart. He was speaking during the media call for the June quarter.

The company reported an IT headcount of 74,689 employees in the quarter, down by 688 employees sequentially, while its last-twelve-month (LTM) attrition stood at 11.8 per cent. The overall headcount, comprising IT, BPS, and sales and support functions, stood at 1.46 lakh, down by 863 employees quarter-on-quarter. This marks the third consecutive quarter of headcount decline for the company. In Q2FY26, the overall headcount stood at 1.52 lakh.

When asked whether this trend impacts campus hiring, Joshi said, “Campus hiring has been volatile because we have had limited visibility into revenues. Now that our visibility is stronger, the campus hiring programme will restart, though we do not have any numbers to share on annual intake at this point.”

In the previous quarter, Joshi had attributed the headcount decline to a flattish sentiment in the overall business environment and tech budgets.

When asked about potential impact of AI usage on the workforce, the management said the company will continue to hire even as it drives productivity via AI.

“We are the fastest growing in the industry among our peers on a year-on-year basis. That gives us the confidence to continue growing, leveraging AI to improve productivity while also hiring where required,” Joshi said. He added that Tech Mahindra has not undertaken any large-scale workforce reduction due to AI adoption.

Tech Mahindra beat industry trends, and reported a net profit of ₹1,486 crore, up 31.6 per cent on an annual basis in Q1, led by overall business improvement and a 17.6 per cent increase in revenue to ₹15,711 crore.

FY27 also serves as the final year of the company’s three-year road map, where the company expects to reap the benefits of its investments and reshaped portfolio.

“We have delivered margin expansion consistently over the past two years. More recently, our growth has begun to move ahead of the peer average,” said Joshi.

EBIT margins went up 60 basis points sequentially at 14.4 per cent. The management remains bullish on 15 per cent margin by FY27-end. Sequentially, the company reported a 9.5 per cent growth in net profit and 4.2 per cent increase in revenue.

“Tech Mahindra also reported a total contract value (TCV) wins of over $1 billion for the third consecutive quarter, signalling sustained deal momentum,” said Sandeep Shah, Director Equity Research, Equirus Securities.

New deal-wins stood at $1.1 billion, up 33.3 per cent year-on-year, though flat sequentially. In terms of client portfolio, Tech Mahindra added three new clients in the $10-million category and four new clients in the $50-million-plus category.

“Strong Q1 start implies TechM will achieve its FY27E commitment without big challenges, unless macro concerns deteriorate further,” said Shah.