IT services provider Mahindra Satyam announced on Thursday that its quarterly net profit dropped 15 per cent year-on-year.

The Hyderabad-based company said that its net profit fell to Rs 454 crore in the three months ended March 31, from Rs 534 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The fall in net profit was, however, largely due to the differential treatment that the company took on the tax front in the final quarters of 2012 and 2013. While the company had availed a tax deferment of Rs 94 crore in the final quarter of FY2012, it made a tax provision of Rs 75 crore in the same quarter of this year.

The company's total revenues jumped 15.47 per cent year-on-year, from Rs 1,739 crore to Rs 2,008 crore. It also managed to improve its gross profit margin from 17.5 per cent in the final quarter of FY2012 to 20.1 per cent in the same quarter of this year.

During the full fiscal year, revenues jumped 17.54 per cent, from Rs 6,815 crore to Rs 8,011 crore.

The board of directors of Mahindra Satyam has recommended a dividend of 30 per cent per share.

Speaking on the topic, Chairman Vineet Nayar said, "We are announcing a dividend this year, which is in many ways symbolic and significant. Hopefully, the long wait of the shareholders for this moment is over."

The company had not been giving any dividends to shareholders since the fiscal year 2008-09.