Tech Mahindra sees a silver lining in digital shift

PUNE: The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to delay 5G rollouts globally, but telecom operators and enterprises will adapt to it as the shift to digital will become even more pronounced, Tech Mahindra’s top executive said. “5G rollouts will get marginally shifted, but we are ready for it and are placing our bets on it,” CP Gurnani, CEO of the IT services provider, said. “This will happen as soon as the world gets back to normal, not slowly opening up.”

The company, which reported a slowing momentum in new deal wins in March due to the outbreak, said digital revenues now formed 44% of its total revenue. It reported $500 million in new deal wins for the quarter ended March 31. “Most of the slowdown has been in the network services and Business Process Solutions (BPS)…because the businesses they were servicing like travel and hospitality were going through a shutdown,” said Gurnani.

The company reported a 29% fall in net profit to ₹803.9 crore for the quarter, while revenue rose about 7% to ₹9,490 crore.