HCL expands its presence in Africa, Baltic region

HCL Technologies, India’s fourth largest information technology (IT) services company is fast expanding its operations in Europe, Baltic region and Africa as it looks at newer frontiers for growth opportunities. According to the company, they are witnessing a major growth in the African region which is emerging as a key market for its expansion plans.

“We do play in that region but, in a selective fashion, in certain countries in Africa. We are increasingly being asked by our customers to expand operations and provide more services in that region," said Anil Chanana, chief financial officer of HCL Technologies.

“Africa is an emerging and growing market for us, with clients across sectors such as retail and telecom. We have had a number of deal wins in the region, particularly in South Africa,” he added.

The company is also expanding its China operations to cater to its global clients having a manufacturing presence in the country. At present, it is catering to sectors such as aviation, manufacturing, retail, financial services and life sciences in China.

In the December quarter, HCL Technologies beat analysts’ expectations in the financial performance. As far as overseas business is concerned, Americas registered revenue growth of 5.5% in constant currency. However, Europe's growth was negative 2.4% in constant currency while Rest of the World also posted a dip of 3.4%.

The company said it has booked business in excess of a billion dollars in total contract value (TCV) during the quarter, which includes eight transformational deals. The number of $50-million dollar clients during the quarter increased by one to 19.

In December last year, HCL Technologies opened a centre in Estonia's capital city, Tallinn, to service customers in continental Europe. It also marks expansion of the software giant’s operations in the Baltic region.

According to the company, it would provide services such as application development, digital and core systems transformation, legacy modernisation, and infrastructure out of this centre.