MindTree hits 52-week high on strong Q3 numbers; Citigroup upgrades to 'buy'

NEW DELHI: MindTree Ltd surged over 4 per cent in early trade on Monday to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 788.85 after the company posted a 63 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 98.8 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012.

The company's net profit stood at Rs 60.6 crore in the year-ago period. Sequentially, it was up 36.8 per cent compared to net profit of Rs 72.2 crore in July-September quarter.

At 10:30 am, the stock pared some of its morning gains and was trading 2.2 per cent higher at Rs 773. It has hit a low of Rs 750 and a 52-week high of Rs 788.85 in trade today.

Citigroup has upgraded MindTree from 'sell' to 'buy' rating. The brokerage has also upped the price target from Rs 660 to Rs 895 earlier. Citi says with signs of easing in discretionary spends; MindTree is poised well to benefit from the same.

The brokerage has also raised EPS estimates by 5-24 per cent for FY13-15.

"During the third quarter, Mindtree registered a forex gain of $2.6 million (about Rs 14 crore) against a loss of $7.5 million (about Rs 41 crore) in the second quarter," PTI reported.

"Of this, while Rs 176.5 crore came from product engineering services vertical, Rs 413.6 crore was contributed by the IT services business in the reported quarter," added the report.

The company had posted a forex loss of Rs 2.7 crore in October-December 2011 quarter.