Analysts had on an average expected TCS to report a net profit of Rs 8,255 crore, news agency Reuters reported citing Refinitiv data.

In a regulatory filing after market hours, TCS said its revenue came in at Rs 38,977 crore in the second quarter of current financial year, as against Rs 38,172 crore in the quarter ended June 30.

In constant currency terms, the revenue grew 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2019-20, TCS said.

Its revenue from digital services contributed 33.2 per cent towards the total revenue. Digital revenue grew 27.9 per cent in second quarter compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

"We ended the quarter with steady growth despite increased volatility in the financial services and retail verticals,” said Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO and managing director of the company. “We remain confident as the medium and longer term demand for our services continues to be very strong, as evidenced by our Q2 order book - the highest in the last six quarters."

The company's board declared an interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share and a special dividend of Rs 40 per equity share.

TCS said it added 14,097 employees during the quarter on a net basis, marking its “highest ever number of employees on-boarded in a quarter”.

Its consolidated headcount stood at 4,50,738 as of September 30, 2019, TCS said.

TCS said it continues to be the industry benchmark in talent retention an IT services attrition rate of 11.6 per cent in past 12 months.