LTM grew 5.1% in constant currency, not the 13.6% its rupee sales show

Most of the rupee growth is the exchange rate

LTM Limited reported revenue of Rs 11,808 crore for the September 2026 quarter, 13.6% more than a year earlier in rupees. Measured in constant currency, which removes the effect of exchange-rate moves, the increase was 5.1%. The difference is the rupee: dividing rupee sales by dollar revenue gives about Rs 95.6 to the dollar now against about Rs 88.1 a year earlier, a calculation from the reported figures.

The rupee growth in the filed results had been climbing for several quarters, while dollar revenue growth in the two earlier quarters with call summaries checked was far lower. That run ended this quarter: rupee growth slowed to 13.6% from 18.0% in the quarter before, while dollar revenue grew 4.7% on the year, the chief financial officer said.

Orders fell, and the contract-value split is a quarter away

Order inflow was $1.3 billion in the quarter, 18.2% below the $1.59 billion of a year earlier, calculated from the reported figures. It was also below each of the four earlier quarterly figures checked, which are not consecutive quarters. Inflow is an early guide to revenue in later quarters, so the fall carries weight beside the growth figure.

Management's reading is that the work is changing. The chief executive described the inflow as AI-centred deals that run six months to a year and turn into revenue faster than traditional contracts counted at total contract value (TCV). Asked whether the company would report annual contract value (ACV) instead, as some peers do, he said the split would not be hard to share but asked analysts to wait one more quarter before it is shown. Until the split arrives, the lower figure alone does not separate weaker demand from shorter contracts.

Profit did not grow because the gap sits below EBIT

The company's EBIT margin, operating profit after depreciation as a share of sales, was 15.6%, a little under the 15.9% of a year earlier. That still means higher EBIT in rupees than a year earlier, calculated from the reported margin and sales. Profit after tax did not follow: earnings per share were Rs 47.2, level with the year-earlier quarter.

The gap opens below the EBIT line. Working back from the reported net margin and tax rate, other income less interest comes to roughly Rs 5 to 35 crore against Rs 231 crore a year earlier; the inputs are rounded percentages, so the figure is approximate. On the call, management did not split the fall between hedging losses and lower other income. The chief financial officer said hedging is layered over two to three years, and that "similar kind of losses in terms of the ForEx losses below EBIT may continue for the next couple of quarters."

Cash conversion fell sharply in the quarter

Operating cash flow was 39% of profit after tax in the quarter. The chief financial officer attributed the drop to advance payments, funding of a one-time gratuity provision tied to the labour-code change, tax deducted at source on the final dividend that fell into this quarter, and advance tax paid in India and the US. He said a substantial part of the gratuity was funded in the quarter, that a small effect may remain in the next one, and that cash conversion may not return fully to earlier levels.

In each of the last two fiscal years, operating cash flow came to nearly all of profit, so this quarter is a break from those two years. The chief financial officer called the gratuity funding and the dividend-tax timing one-off, though the cash flow statement for the quarter is not yet in the filed tables.

Management points to a stronger second half

On the call, management did not put a number on full-year growth. Asked whether it would match last year, the chief executive called it an endeavour and said the company is working to come as close as it can; he also said the second half will be better than the first. The chief executive put first-half growth at 5.4% on the year.

One shortfall was quantified. Saudi revenue, which runs through a joint venture and so sits in the Tech & Services vertical, fell materially and cost part of the quarter's sequential growth, the chief executive said, adding that there is little the company can do about it at this stage.

On profit, the chief financial officer said the target is to hold EBIT margin near last year's level, including the planned acquisition of certain Randstad digital businesses in Europe and Australia. Both quarters reported so far this fiscal year sit above last fiscal year's full-year margin, by our calculation. The chief financial officer said organic margins should hold and improve, with Randstad's effect mainly amortisation.