Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS): India's largest IT firm, TCS, on Thursday reported a 1.80 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its consolidated profit at Rs 8,042 crore for the second quarter ending September.

The company's revenue in the period in consideration grew by 5.80 per cent to Rs 38,977 crore.

The IT major also announced a dividend of Rs 45 per share, including Rs 40 as special dividend.

Emkay Global Financial Services said that the company's operating performance was weak in terms of both growth and margins.

"A 1.6 per cent QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) growth in Q2 is the lowest sequential growth in the past 2 years and confirms the weakness that street has generally been worried about due to the macro backdrop," it said.

"We ended the quarter with steady growth despite increased volatility in the financial services and retail verticals," TCS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan said.

Chief Financial Officer V. Ramakrishnan said: "We have been gearing up for growth despite the volatility. Our margins in Q2 reflect our continued investments in our people, and in building the capacity we need to fulfill our strong order book."

Gopinathan said that the company remains confident as the medium and longer term demand for its services continues to be very strong, as evidenced by the Q2 order book recording its highest in the last six quarters.

The company said that its growth was led by Europe (16 per cent) and UK (13.3 per cent). North America and Asia Pacific grew 5.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively, and the emerging markets showed steady growth, with India at 7.7 per cent.