S. Ramadorai in Mumbai on Thursday. (AFP)

Mumbai, Jan. 12: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has posted a 5.6 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 753 crore for the quarter ended December 31 against Rs 713 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s performance was just a tad short of forecasts.

TCS recorded a total income of Rs 3,288 crore, an increase of 28.8 per cent over Rs 2,553 crore achieved during the same period last fiscal.

“Solid volume growth on the back of key customer wins in the earlier quarters and thrust on software for financial services, retail and utilities continued to fuel the company’s progress in the third quarter,” TCS chief executive officer and managing director S. Ramadorai said.

“TCS has emerged as a full services player in the industry and laid a strong foundation for future growth through key strategic moves in transaction-based BPO and banking products. We are already winning deals that validate our strategy and will help us accelerate growth,” he added.

The company has announced a third interim dividend of Rs 3 per share.

The company has also registered revenues of $2 billion for the April-December period.

“We have registered $2 billion during the last nine months itself and are very bullish about the future,” Ramadorai said.

The largest software company of the country added 83 new customers during the quarter. It also added 6,076 employees, taking the total strength to 59,384.

The employee costs of the company have increased by almost 140 per cent to Rs 1,086.86 crore from Rs 453.54 crore during the same period last year.

TCS plans to increase its workforce to 67,000 by the end of this fiscal by adding another 8,000 people in the fourth quarter.

“We will add another 8,000 people in the next three months. Of this, 3,500 will be recruited directly and 4,500 will come through acquisitions,” said Ramadorai.

In the third quarter, TCS acquired the Sydney-based Financial Network Services (FNS), a core banking services provider. It also acquired the Chile-based Comicrom, a BPO services company.

TCS shares ended the day with a 0.4 per cent rise to Rs 1,678.25, in contrast to the weak market movement.