--- title: "Six of nine mid-tier IT firms grew 10%-plus in rupees; in dollars, only two did" summary: "Nine mid-tier Indian IT firms’ July to September results in rupees, dollars and constant currency: how much a weak rupee adds, and how to read a results headline." url: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/mid-tier-indian-it-growth-rupee-flatters format: Trend desk: "Markets & the AI economy" region: India published: 2026-11-09 facts_checked: 2026-11-09 author: TechBag (The TechBag Journal) tags: ["Persistent Systems","Coforge","Mphasis","Zensar","Mastek","Happiest Minds","Birlasoft","Hexaware","Sonata Software","IT services","earnings","constant currency","rupee","exchange rate","organic growth"] cover: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/covers/mid-tier-indian-it-growth-rupee-flatters.png --- # Six of nine mid-tier IT firms grew 10%-plus in rupees; in dollars, only two did *Nine mid-tier Indian IT firms’ July to September results in rupees, dollars and constant currency: how much a weak rupee adds, and how to read a results headline.* Trend · Markets & the AI economy · By TechBag · Published 2026-11-09 · Facts checked 2026-11-09 · Canonical: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/mid-tier-indian-it-growth-rupee-flatters The short version 1. Six of nine mid-tier Indian IT firms grew more than 10% in rupees in the quarter to September, on a year earlier. In US dollars only two did, Coforge and Persistent, and Coforge’s figure includes an acquisition.[1][2][4][5][8][10] 2. The dollar bought an average of ₹95.48 in the quarter against ₹88.19 a year earlier, 8.3% more. So a firm with no growth at all in dollars would report about 8% growth in rupees. Birlasoft’s dollar revenue fell 1.6%; its rupee revenue rose 6.6%.[9][10] 3. With currency removed, growth on the previous quarter ran from 1.2% to 7.8% and the median firm grew 2.4%. The clean number is usually a line or two below the headline. “Mphasis Revenue grew 4.5% QoQ and 17.4% YoY”, its results release said on 5 November. Lower down, the same release gives 9.2% in US dollars.[1] Neither number is wrong. They measure different things, and in a year when the rupee has fallen this far the difference is most of the story. We read the July to September filings of nine listed firms to see how much of mid-tier IT’s growth is currency, which firms grew anyway, and how to read the next results headline. ## The gap: 8 to 13 points, at every firm Indian IT firms sell mostly in dollars, pounds and euros and report in rupees. When the rupee weakens, each dollar earned converts into more rupees, and the reported figure rises with no new work done. Birlasoft and Hexaware both print the rate they used: an average of about ₹88.2 to the dollar in July to September 2025 and about ₹95.5 a year later.[9][10] **Figure: All nine firms grew faster in rupees than in dollars, by 8 to 13.5 points** *Revenue growth on a year earlier, %, quarter to 30 September 2026, in US dollars and in rupees* | | Growth in US dollars | Growth in rupees | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Coforge | 40.1 | 53.6 | 13.5 pts | | Persistent | 20 | 30.3 | 10.3 pts | | Mphasis | 9.2 | 17.4 | 8.2 pts | | Hexaware | 4.3 | 12.9 | 8.6 pts | | Happiest Minds | 3.6 | 12.5 | 8.9 pts | | Zensar | 2.1 | 11.5 | 9.4 pts | | Sonata | 0.9 | 9.3 | 8.4 pts | | Mastek | -0.8 | 8.3 | 9.1 pts | | Birlasoft | -1.6 | 6.6 | 8.2 pts | Source: Company filings with NSE, 15 October to 6 November 2026; gaps are TechBag arithmetic · as of 6 November 2026 · Coforge includes the Encora acquisition. Sonata is International Services only The gap is wider at the fastest growers because the rate applies to the whole of a bigger number: Persistent’s 20.0% in dollars, multiplied by a dollar worth 8.3% more, comes to about 30%, and it reported 30.3%.[2] Constant currency, which restates revenue at last year’s rates, removes every currency’s move, and on that basis growth on a year earlier was 20.8% at Persistent, 9.7% at Mphasis, 6.8% at Happiest Minds, 4.5% at Hexaware, 2.0% at Zensar and 1.3% at Sonata.[1][2][4][8][10][11] Two shrank: Mastek by 0.6% and Birlasoft by 1.1%, while their rupee revenue rose 8.3% and 6.6%.[7][9] TechBag countHow much is currency Taking each firm’s dollar growth out of its rupee growth leaves the currency effect it felt: 7.5% at Mphasis, 9.6% at Coforge, and between 8.2% and 9.2% at the other seven. Each bills a different mix of currencies, and the filings we read do not break that effect down. ## Who grew anyway Growth on the previous quarter in constant currency is the cleanest comparison: the rate barely moved between the two quarters (₹94.86 to ₹95.48 on average, 0.7%), and currency is stripped out in any case.[10] **Figure: Without currency, growth in the quarter ran from 1.2% to 7.8%; the median firm grew 2.4%** *Revenue growth on the previous quarter in constant currency, %, quarter to 30 September 2026* Persistent 7.8% Zensar 4.1% Coforge organic 3.8% Mphasis 3.3% Mastek 2.4% Happiest Minds 2.4% Birlasoft 2.1% Hexaware 1.7% Sonata International 1.2% | | Value (%) | | --- | --- | | Persistent | 7.8 | | Zensar | 4.1 | | Coforge | 3.8 | | Mphasis | 3.3 | | Mastek | 2.4 | | Happiest Minds | 2.4 | | Birlasoft | 2.1 | | Hexaware | 1.7 | | Sonata | 1.2 | Source: Company filings with NSE, 15 October to 6 November 2026 · as of 6 November 2026 · Coforge is organic; its reported constant-currency growth was 10.9%. Sonata is International Services only Persistent stands apart, and its chief executive, Sandeep Kalra, said why: the growth “was underpinned by two large things”, a large deal with one of its largest technology customers, described on the same call as a 6.5-year engagement worth more than US$650m, and a vendor consolidation at one of its largest financial-services customers.[3] Coforge shows the third thing a headline can blend in. Its revenue grew 10.1% in the quarter in dollars and 10.9% in constant currency; its organic constant-currency growth, without acquisitions, was 3.8%. Its fact sheet lists integration expenses for Encora, the business it bought.[5][6] The same measure for the same quarter at India’s four largest firms, from [our note on their AI revenue](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/indian-it-ai-revenue-share-growth): HCLTech 2.3%, Infosys 1.2%, TCS 0.5% (as press-reported), Wipro’s IT services flat.[12] Six of the nine mid-tier firms grew faster than HCLTech, the fastest of the four, and eight grew faster than Infosys, with Sonata level at 1.2%. Coforge’s figure is organic; the majors’ are as reported. ## How to read the next results headline, and what to watch - **Find the dollar line, then the constant-currency line.** Rupee growth tells you what the firm reports. Dollar and constant-currency growth tell you what its clients bought. - **Prefer the previous quarter when comparing firms.** In the year-on-year figure, this year’s weaker rupee is compared with last year’s stronger one. - **Ask what is inside it.** Acquisitions (Coforge), one large contract (Persistent) and the scope of the line (Sonata’s International Services, not its Indian resale business) all change what a percentage means. - **Do not rank margins across these filings.** Some firms lead with EBIT and some with EBITDA. A weak rupee also helps on costs, since salaries are paid largely in rupees, and hedges take some of it back. Persistent’s finance chief, Vinit Teredesai, counted “favorable currency moments” among the tailwinds in its margin; it also booked a foreign exchange loss of ₹45.58 crore, with US$500m of forward contracts outstanding at an average ₹95.6.[3] Coforge’s fact sheet shows a hedge loss of ₹97.1 crore in the quarter.[6] **What to watch.** The base. The year-on-year gap exists because the rupee was stronger a year ago, so it moves with the rate in each comparison quarter. The October to December filings, due from January, will show whether constant-currency growth holds at firms that had a large contract ramp, and whether Birlasoft and Mastek return to growth on a year earlier. As with [Fractal’s first US$100m quarter](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/fractal-first-100m-quarter-half-currency), the number to look for is the one without the exchange rate in it. How we did this Figures as of 9 November 2026, 7pm IST Growth rates are each company’s own, from its results release, investor presentation or fact sheet filed with NSE for the quarter to 30 September 2026 (Hexaware’s Q3 CY26). The nine are our selection of listed mid-tier IT services firms, not an index. Sonata is its International Services line: consolidated revenue includes an Indian business of product resale whose revenue fell 33.9% on the previous quarter. Coforge’s year-on-year figures include Encora; it published organic growth only on the previous quarter, so it is left out of the year-on-year constant-currency list. Average rates are those printed by Birlasoft and Hexaware. The points gaps, the implied currency effect and the median are our arithmetic. Happiest Minds’s dollar growth (3.6%) sits below its constant-currency growth (6.8%), a larger difference than at the other firms; its release does not say why. TCS’s figure is as reported by the press, as our earlier note says. Margins are not compared. Views on why growth differs are the companies’ own, attributed. Spotted an error? Write to us; corrections are published at the foot of the piece. Sources 1. [Mphasis, outcome of board meeting and results release, Q2 FY27](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/MPHASIS_05112026235028_Outcome_of_Board_Meeting-_Q2FY27-final_Sd.pdf) — 5 November 2026 2. [Persistent Systems, press release on Q2 FY27 results](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/PERSISTENTUSER1_15102026161221_SEIntimationpressrelease15102026Sd.pdf) — 15 October 2026 3. [Persistent Systems, transcript of the Q2 FY27 earnings call](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/PERSISTENTUSER1_23102026204328_PSLTranscriptSubmissionOctober2026Sd.pdf) — filed 23 October 2026 Call of 15 October 2026. 4. [Zensar Technologies, press release and investor update, Q2 FY27](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ZENSARTECH_28102026222928_SEIntimationPressrelease.pdf) — 28 October 2026 5. [Coforge, press release on Q2 FY27 results](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/COFORGE_23102026163959_3PressReleaseF.pdf) — 23 October 2026 6. [Coforge, fact sheet, 30 September 2026](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/COFORGE_23102026162532_2FactSheetWebPresentationF.pdf) — 23 October 2026 7. [Mastek, press release and investor update, Q2 FY27](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/MASTEK12_23102026155908_PressReleaseQ22027signed.pdf) — 23 October 2026 8. [Happiest Minds, press release on Q2 FY27 results](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/suhask_02112026232639_Reg30PressRelease02112026.pdf) — 2 November 2026 9. [Birlasoft, investor update, Q2 FY27](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/BSOFT_28102026171835_SEIntimationInvestorPresentation.pdf) — 28 October 2026 10. [Hexaware Technologies, investor presentation, Q3 CY26](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/HEXAWARETECH_28102026222443_investorPresentation.pdf) — 28 October 2026 11. [Sonata Software, investor presentation and fact sheet, Q2 FY27](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/SONATSOFTW_06112026122802_investorpresentationq2fy27.pdf) — 6 November 2026 12. [The TechBag Journal: AI revenue rose up to 29% in a quarter; India's four IT majors grew 0–2.3%](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/indian-it-ai-revenue-share-growth) — 26 October 2026 Company releases and transcripts are cited there; TCS as press-reported. **Disclosure.** TechBag is a software reseller: it earns a margin when a reader buys through it, including from vendors named here. The analysis is TechBag’s own; no vendor paid for or saw this piece before publication. Facts are labelled reported, TechBag count or our view. **Read this next:** [AI revenue rose up to 29% in a quarter; India's four IT majors grew 0–2.3%](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/indian-it-ai-revenue-share-growth) — The largest firms’ side of the same quarter: AI revenue at India’s four IT majors rose up to 29% while their total revenue grew 0–2.3%. Go deeper on TechBag - [The IT & ITES industry guide](https://www.thetechbag.com/industries/it-ites) — what India's IT services firms buy, with every claim sourced and dated - [Fractal’s first US$100m quarter](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/fractal-first-100m-quarter-half-currency) — another results headline where currency explains half the growth - [Nifty’s best week in five years](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/nifty-best-week-fpis-buy-as-chip-index-falls) — what the Nifty IT and the rupee did in the first week of November