The second big loser after Sun Pharma on the bourses currently is HCL Tech. The second biggie after TCS to declare its numbers and like TCS, the performance was disappointing.

After posting its best show in 16 years in December quarter, the company posted a 12% (QoQ) drop in consolidated net profit at Rs.1683 crore, much below what most analysts and brokerage houses had expected. Dollar revenue was flat and rupee revenue fell marginally by 0.2% to Rs.9267 crore. EBIT came in 10.5% lower at Rs.1977 crore. EBITDA margin was down at 21.3%, a slip of 250 bps.

The company has blamed the poor performance on operating margin metrics and enhanced working capital needs affecting cash flows. Cross currency volatility too affected margins.