Consol PAT +38% YoY to ₹34 Cr on margin expansion; QoQ dip is EdTech seasonality

TeamLease posted consolidated Q1FY27 revenue from operations of ₹3,034.69 Cr (+5.8% YoY, +3.8% QoQ) and net profit of ₹34.45 Cr (+37.7% YoY), with PBT up 38% YoY to ₹36.26 Cr. The profit growth is clean — neither the current nor the year-ago quarter carried exceptional items (the ₹5.68 Cr labour-code charge sat only in the FY26 full-year column) — so the +38% is genuine operating leverage, not a base-effect optic. PAT margin widened to 1.14% from 0.87% a year ago as business EBITDA rose 18% YoY, led by GCC-anchored Specialised Staffing (gross revenue +21% YoY) and operating efficiency.

The standout sequential decline — PAT −25% QoQ, EBITDA −31%, PBT −30% — is a seasonality artifact, not deterioration: HR Services (EdTech) revenue fell 34% QoQ because billing concentrates in Q4, and the annual appraisal cycle compressed Specialised Staffing margins; management flags both explicitly. YoY is the honest read here, and on that basis margins expanded. Against the Q3FY26 concall guidance of a 'swift recovery' with net positive staffing headcount and sustained margin improvement, the print broadly delivers on margins and staffing adds (4,130 net additions in General + Specialised) but headcount is still −3% YoY, dragged by the planned Degree Apprenticeship exits (−12% YoY) and the earlier Q3FY26 insourcing of ~23,000 associates by a large NBFC client — so the recovery is real but not yet complete.

The stock went into the print at ₹1,295, down 10.4% over the past month of trading.

For context: revenue is at a 6-quarter high.

Thin analyst coverage had pencilled roughly ₹19 EPS and ~₹3,240 Cr revenue; the actual ₹20.79 EPS came in ahead while topline landed a touch light, netting out broadly in line. Concurrent corporate actions frame the quarter: the ₹238 Cr buyback (14,87,500 shares at ₹1,600, 8.87% of capital) was completed post quarter-end, and the Board approved exiting the 30% Crystal HR (Wallet HR) joint venture as portfolio rationalisation. Standalone tells a similar story — revenue ₹2,739.36 Cr, PAT ₹24.29 Cr — with no material divergence in the growth narrative. Management (CEO Suparna Mitra) framed the quarter as business EBITDA +18% YoY on GCC staffing and efficiency, with 127 new client logos added; the reported numbers support that framing.