iGate net up 4.2% on sale of assets

iGate Global Solutions Limited on Thursday announced a modest improvement in its operations.

In the third quarter-ended December 31, 2004, it has recorded a net profit of Rs 15.8 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 2.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Revenue has remained virtually stagnant at Rs 143.5 crore, compared to Rs 142.8 crore in the corresponding quarter.

If one time other income from the sale of assets of Rs 15.6 crore is excluded, then the profit virtually disappears. Sequentially, over the second quarter, revenue fell by 4 per cent and the bottomline, excluding the one time item, appears sharply down to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 3 crore.

"iGate is the first integrated technology and operations company with global services delivery model and over the last year we have been building out the integrated technology and operations model. We believe that a pure labour arbitrage-based BPO is not sustainable. Two of our recent deals validate our belief that clients will receive substantial and sustainable benefits if the underlying technology is treated as an integral part of the process being outsourced," said Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGate Global Solutions.

During the quarter 15 new clients were added, of which eight are 'Global 1000'.

Operating profit rose to Rs 8.7 crore from a loss of Rs 4.3 crore due to the improving trends in utilisation, onsite offshore ratio and higher value services, Murthy said.

On the outlook, Srinjay Sengupta, global head of sales, said, "The market is responding favourably to our unique combination of IT services coupled with process insights and substantial year-on-year improvements. The recent deals are multi-year contracts and I am optimistic that the trend will continue."