With operating margins at 43 per cent, overseas revenues in the fourth quarter were up 57 per cent at Rs 91.5 crore over the previous year, and constituted 78 per cent of total revenues. Domestic revenues during the quarter rose 17 per cent from Rs 21.9 crore to Rs 25.7 crore in the current quarter
On a sequential basis, consolidated revenues for the quarter increased 12 per cent to Rs 117.7 crore from Rs 105.1 crore in the December quarter of fiscal 2008. Net profit after tax rose to Rs 31.7 crore from Rs 31.4 crore in the previous quarter of the fiscal.
Consolidated revenues for the fiscal ended March 31, 2008, increased 40 per cent to Rs 398.6 crore from Rs 284.9 crore a year earlier. Profit after tax increased 32 per cent to Rs 115 crore from Rs 87.1 crore in the comparable period of the previous year.
Operating profit increased by 35 per cent to Rs 203.8 crore from Rs 150.6 crore earlier. Overseas revenues were up 42 per cent to Rs 319.8 crore, while domestic sales increased 29 per cent to Rs 75.4 crore.
More From This Section
Diluted earnings per share for the fiscal was at Rs 8.85. The company's debt-to-equity ratio stood at 1.19:1 at the end of the fiscal. Debtors' outstanding position was Rs 155 crore at the close of fiscal 2008, compared to Rs 107 crore a year earlier. Cash and cash equivalents position improved to Rs 281 crore at the close of fiscal 2008.
During the fiscal, Cranes successfully completed the acquisition of Engineering Technology Associates (ETA) for a consideration of Rs 72 crore in the engineering simulations space and is targeting the lucrative Chinese auto market where ETA has a development centre. It has also formed a strategic alliance with Fractal Analytics to develop Predicta, a sophisticated model and scorecard development application with domain-specific knowledge and analytical prowess embedded in.
Tilak AutoTech and Caravel Info Systems, which were acquired earlier, have been fully integrated into the engineering simulations business. The company expects growth during 2008-09 to be powered by its product offerings in the Engineering and Analytics groups. Regrouping of the business is set to drive opportunities in the automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical, social science, environmental science, telecom and BFSI verticals.
Proprietary products grew by 8 per cent and 51 per cent on a sequential and quarter-on-quarter basis respectively. "We expect this segment to grow at a healthy pace and constitute majority of total revenues," Asif Khader, managing director, Cranes Software International, said. "The demand for business is as robust as ever and the management is well equipped for the next big leap of becoming a leading player in the engineering simulation and data analytics space."
The company has revamped its focus areas by streamlining its product offerings into two revenue-centric groups -- Engineering Simulations and Analytics. While the engineering group focuses on the automotive and aerospace verticals, the analytics group caters to the pharmaceutical, environmental science, social science, telecom, and BFSI sectors.
During fiscal 2008, Cranes also started operations at its own 35,000-square feet facility in Bangalore. Global headcount increased to 1,040 people, with additions being made to the product development, and sales and marketing teams.