&w=3840&q=100)
IT hiring nearly flat for 6-7 quarters; no Q2 recovery seen: Quess Corp
Quess Corp ED and CEO Guruprasad Srinivasan told PTI that demand for technology talents is coming from global capability centres and non-IT companies.
"At least for the last six to seven quarters. And we are also not seeing very active demand coming in, even in Q2 as well. So, IT services being a bit muted or dehiring happening, there has been no impact on Quess," he said.
He added that 73 per cent of staffing demand for the company comes from non-IT and GCCs, where demand for the technology talent pool is high.
"Skills for AI, cloud, and cybersecurity kind of profile are high in demand. On average, the wage in itself is about Rs 1.25 lakhs. It's a high margin for us. When it comes to margin, it's about 15 to 18 per cent," Srinivasan noted.
Quess Corp has posted a 4 per cent increase in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 51 crore compared to Rs 49 crore it recorded in the year-ago period, driven by growth in the professional staffing segment.
The company's general staffing and overseas business remained almost flat on a year-over-year basis, while digital platform business revenue declined by more than half.
Srinivasan said the mix of the company has improved with an increase in professional staffing, which is a high-margin segment for the company.
There have been signs of recovery in general staffing, with strong momentum in the June quarter, he added.
In the June 2025 quarter, the general staffing segment of the company reported a revenue of Rs 3,122 crore, flat year-on-year and down marginally quarter-on-quarter amid a challenging operating environment.
"June 2025 was the first month since December 2024 that we saw an uptick across headcount, new demand, open mandates and fulfillments. Overall, in the quarter, we had net adds of 2,000, where we also experienced a decline in April. However, we saw a recovery in the later part of the quarter by adding 6,500 numbers in the month of June itself," he said.
Srinivasan said that the majority of new additions this quarter came from manufacturing, followed by banking, financial, consumer retail and telecom consumer, while retail and telecom saw a marginal decline.
"Professional staffing maintained its momentum from the previous year, posting its best quarterly performance in over 15 years with revenue of Rs 244 crore. It achieved a double-digit margin of 10.2 per cent with our annualised revenue run rate approaching Rs 2,000 crore," he noted.
Srinivasan said the company's exposure to GCC is 73 per cent, driven mainly by demand from digital, high-tech, telecom, media and technology and electronics sectors.
"During the quarter, we also added 12 new contracts, each with a promising projection of headcount growth in upcoming quarters. Our open mandates are currently over 1,200 positions. I mean, positioning us well to meet our demand from the sector perspective," he said.
BFSI continues to drive the growth, followed by telecom, product and tech sectors, while pharma and retail, auto and manufacturing faced pressure due to tariff-related headwinds, he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
NITI Aayog conducting evaluation study of MGNREGS, minister tells LS
THE NITI Aayog, the government's premier think tank, is conducting an evaluation study of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question, Union Minister of State of Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan informed the House that the Development, Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, has recently taken up the evaluation study of the scheme. The development is significant as it comes at a time when the Ministry of Rural Development has circulated a proposal seeking approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for continuation of MGNREGS and an outlay for Rs 5.23 lakh crore till financial year 2029-30, a period that coincides with the next Finance Commission (16th) cycle. The EFC is a central body that appraises government schemes and projects; it comes under the Ministry of Finance. Replying to a question by CPI(ML)L member Sudama Prasad, Paswan said, 'The Internal Audit Wing (IAW) under the Office of the Chief Controller of Accounts (CCA) has been conducting Risk-Based Internal Audits of MGNREGS implementation in states since FY 2013-14… Risk-Based Internal Audits of MGNREGS have been conducted in 225 districts of 30 states/UTs since 2013-14.' 'Further, Amarjeet Sinha Committee was constituted in 2021 to examine various factors affecting demand for wage employment in the rural sector in different parts of the country and to study/analyse the trends of expenditure across states under MGNREGS along with reasons for inter-state variations with specific focus on governance issues. The report of the Committee has since been received and some of the recommendations have been identified for appropriate action,' Paswan said, sharing details of the internal audits and review of the MGNREGS conducted in recent years. 'In addition to this, DMEO, NITI Aayog, too has recently taken up an evaluation study of MGNREGS,' he said. The NITI Aayog conducted the last evaluation study of the MGNREGS in 2019-20. At the time, the think tank had also conducted the evaluation study of five other schemes. 'The study focused on the effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of these schemes, including the MGNREGS, to gauge their overall contribution to the national rural economy,' Paswan said. The evaluation study by NITI Aayog is crucial for getting approval of the EFC, said a source. The Ministry of Finance has told all ministries and departments that no Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) or Central Sector Scheme (CS) will be considered for continuation beyond March 31, 2026, unless a third-party evaluation of the scheme is carried out. Sources say that the EFC approval and appraisal is part of the Centre's exercise to evaluate and approve its schemes for the next Finance Commission cycle. The MGNREGS is backed by law and therefore the EFC approval is just a formality. Harikishan Sharma, Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express' National Bureau, specializes in reporting on governance, policy, and data. He covers the Prime Minister's Office and pivotal central ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Rural Development, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. His work primarily revolves around reporting and policy analysis. In addition to this, he authors a weekly column titled "STATE-ISTICALLY SPEAKING," which is prominently featured on The Indian Express website. In this column, he immerses readers in narratives deeply rooted in socio-economic, political, and electoral data, providing insightful perspectives on these critical aspects of governance and society. ... Read More
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
PSUs shouldn't behave like Shylock to become money-minded: SC
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has said that public sector units should not be guided only by commercial interests for making money like a private company but their conduct must be like a model citizen and came down on Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) for behaving like "Shylock" and getting into unnecessary litigation on tariff against wind power producers in Gujarat from which it purchases power. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma rejected the plea of GUVNL which contended that tariff rate of Rs 3.56 per kWh as mentioned in power purchase agreements (PPAs) was binding on the four power generating companies. The court said govt has been promoting renewable energy to reduce carbon footprint and to make the country energy self-sufficient and less dependent on fossil fuels and GUVNL should be mindful of the policy. The PSU took the stand that these wind energy projects had willingly entered into PPAs with it, binding themselves to the tariff rate of Rs 3.56 per kWh, and were, therefore, not at liberty to seek determination of tariff on a case-to-case basis thereafter, a plea which was rejected by the SC. "GUVNL cannot be guided only by its own commercial interests, like a private business entity and it's conduct, as a state-instrumentality, must be of the standard of a model citizen. However, patently unfair treatment was sought to be meted out by GUVNL to the respondent companies by binding them to a rate that was wholly inapplicable to them. Such conduct, akin to a Shylock, does not reflect positively upon GUVNL," the bench said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
ED quizzes Anil Ambani for 8 hours in laundering case
NEW DELHI: Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was on Tuesday asked about his foreign assets and other transactions, both in India and overseas, during his more than eight hours of questioning at Enforcement Directorate headquarters here, in connection with a money laundering investigation against his group entities. Sources said Ambani's questioning is likely to continue and he may be called for another round in a few days. ED had conducted searches on at least 35 premises in Mumbai linked to the industrialist on July 24-27, covering at least 50 entities and 22 individuals, during which the agency had seized several documents and digital records. Today the Ambani's statement was recorded & during examination, various questions pertaining to loan transactions were put to him. Ambani has sought seven days to furnish the requisite details and supporting documents, sources said. The agency is probing alleged round-tripping of funds and related party transactions, some of them linked to Reliance Infrastructure, which had allegedly received funds from entities not disclosed earlier. The investigation also includes irregularities pointed out by Sebi and a forensic audit of Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL), in particular "loans of more than Rs 12,000 crore" extended to various group entities. These companies had a common registered address, email ID/domain, address and directors. The Reliance Group has contested the amount of loans extended. A report released by Sebi had noted that as on Sept 30, 2021, Rs 6,931 crore had been declared as NPA/written off by RHFL out of loans extended to linked/associated entities of the Ambani group. A spokesperson for Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group had, however, denied allegations of money laundering & said that "the account of RHFL has been fully resolved with change in management pursuant to the judgment of the SC in 2023... Allegations of other irregularities are sub judice and as a matter of fact, Sebi order has been challenged before SAT since 2024". The agency is also probing Ambani and his entities in a loan fraud of Rs 3,000 crore received from Yes Bank where he is alleged to have bribed the bank's former CEO Rana Kapoor for Rs 225 crore. Reliance Communication and its loan default of Rs 1,050 crore to Canara Bank is another investigation related to the group.
