NIIT Q1 net up 17% at Rs 15crBS Reporter / New Delhi July 30, 2007Changing its positioning from an IT training company to a global talent development corporation led NIIT to record a 17 per cent rise in profit after tax (PAT) which touched Rs 15.4 crore for the first quarter ended 30 June 2007, from Rs 13.2 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. With the inclusion of the $80 million US-based company Element K to its business among it new businesses in August last financial year, the company recorded a growth of 104 per cent in its net revenues -- from Rs 110.2 crore in the first quarter of the previous year to Rs 225.4 crore in the first quarter of 2007. The growth in the quarter led to a rise in the earning per share (EPS) from Rs 7 to Rs 10 per share. Commenting on the not-so-impressive year-on-year growth in PAT, Vijay K Thadani, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT, admitted that "the appreciating rupee had an obvious impact on the profits with a 6 per cent impact on the top line and 13 per cent on the bottom line". The company gets 60 per cent of its international business primarily from the US. The other 40 per cent of its revenues come from the Indian market. "Element K was not a part of the company in the first quarter in the previous year, thus leading to the limited impact on the PAT," added Thadani. Sequentially (as compared to the previous quarter) too, the company suffered a decline of 9.9 per cent in PAT -- falling from Rs 17.1 crore in the quarter ending 31 March, 2007 to Rs 15.4 in the first quarter of the 2007-08. The revenue too witnessed a 12.1 per cent decline -- from Rs 256.6 crore in the previous quarter to Rs 225.4 crore in the first quarter of this financial year. Explaining the decline, Thadani said: "The educational business is highly seasonal. Our first quarter is always slow, the revenues from the registrations done this quarter will be seen in the next quarter which is always the best for our business." During the quarter, the company
