A depreciating rupee at roughly 4.5 per cent in the last four months had a beneficial effect on IT solutions vendor Mindtree's revenues in the fourth quarter ended March 31, though forex losses hurt the bottomline.
Bangalore-based Mindtree posted 89 per cent slide in net profit after tax figures year-on-year to Rs 18.80 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. This was from Rs 35.69 crore posted in the comparable period a year earlier.
Sequentially, PAT increased 115 per cent from Rs 8.72 crore posted in the quarter ended December 31, 2008.
Total revenues for the quarter ended March met the company's guidance at Rs 338.06 crore, increasing 62 per cent from Rs 208.25 crore in the comparable quarter of 2008. On a sequential basis, the topline climbed down 7 per cent from Rs 363.80 crore posted in the December quarter.
EBITDA was 25.6 per cent, reflecting growth of 125.4 per cent year-on-year. As of March 31, 2009, the active customer base was 261, including 37 Global Fortune 500 Companies.
Operating profit which was Rs 66.43 crore in March from Rs 26.23 crore last year, was stretched by higher revenue costs. Add to this, the profit before tax was hit by foreign exchange losses to the tune of Rs 49.33 crore during the quarter. This forex loss was by no means modest in comparison with the Rs 78.94 crore incurred during the December quarter. But the damage to the profit before tax figures (Rs 18.44 crore in March, from Rs 34.52 crore a year ago) on this count was far more severe.
For the entire fiscal, Mindtree incurred forex losses to the tune of Rs 152 crore. The company announced a revenue guidance in the range of $290 million to $300 Million (Rs 1,490 crore – Rs 1,542 crore) for the June 2009 quarter.
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“Despite the current economic challenges, we have shown industry leading revenue growth. It draws from the strengths of both MindTree and Aztecsoft and strengthens our position as the best midsized company,” MindTree Executive Chairman Ashok Soota said. “Our new organisational structure and focus on new business areas will help us withstand the economic crisis and continue on our path to becoming a $1-billion organization,” he added.
During the March quarter, Mindtree Consulting restructured its business units to focus on new technology areas and developing markets. The focus is now on five key areas: IT Services, Product Engineering Services, Infrastructure Management and Technical Support (IMTS), Independent Testing and the newly-formed Knowledge Services division.
The restructure also included a senior management reshuffle. Company chairman Ashok Soota took on the additional role of executive chairman, while managing director Krishnakumar Natarajan took over CEO duties from Soota.
The company added 22 new customers during the quarter, and 217 people on a net basis, taking its people strength to 7,866 as of March 31.