TCS shares trade ex-dividend post declaring special dividend; stock rises

TCS declared a third interim dividend of ₹8 and a special dividend of ₹67 per equity share

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose to ₹3,320 apiece on the BSE in Monday's opening deals as the stock started trading ex-dividend on Monday, a day ahead of its record date for the interim and special dividend announced during Q3 results.

While announcing its Q3 FY23 earnings, TCS' board of directors also declared a third interim dividend of ₹8 and a special dividend of ₹67 per equity share of Re 1 each of the company, with a total dividend announced of ₹75 per share.

"The third interim dividend and the special dividend shall be paid on Friday, February 3, 2023, to the equity shareholders of the Company, whose names appear on the Register of Members of the Company or in the records of the Depositories as beneficial owners of the shares as on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, which is the Record Date fixed for the purpose," India's top IT company had said in the filing.

The IT company has a strong track record of distributing dividends to its shareholders, declaring 78 dividends since October 28, 2004. In the past 12 months, TCS has declared an equity dividend amounting to ₹45.00 per share. At the current share price, this results in a dividend yield of 1.33%, as per data by Trendlyne.

The IT giant reported a lower-than-expected profit for the third quarter ended December 2022 (Q3 FY23) at ₹10,846 crore, up 11% year-on-year (YoY). Revenue growth has been better, but profit margin was lower than expectations. The management flagged the challenges in Europe as clients tightened spending due to rough economic conditions, while its workforce shrank for the first time since the pandemic.

Its overall revenue rose 19% to ₹58,229 crore for the reporting quarter, but it was a 0.5% narrowing of the operating profit margin to 24.5% that limited the overall profit growth. TCS witnessed a 3.7% drop in its order book to $7.8 billion in the December quarter from $8.1 billion at the end of the September quarter. TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan said the company was constructive on the US, cautious on Europe and positive on the U.K, acknowledging that the situation could be volatile.

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