Software services provider Zensar Technologies plans to invest Rs 5 crore in FY11, mainly to set up two development centres, a top official said on Thursday.
"We are setting up a 300-seat centre within SEZ (special economic zone) in Hyderabad, which will start in September," Vice Chairman and Managing Director Ganesh Natarajan told Reuters over the telephone.
The firm, which already has development centres in Hyderabad and Pune, also plans a 100-seater centre in Shanghai which would be operational by September, he said.
The Shanghai centre will help further the company's global plans, and provide support to US customers' manufacturing needs in China. It will focus primarily on manufacturing and government verticals.
It also plans to open an office in Saudi Arabia, following an increase in focus on enterprise business in the Middle-East.
"Under our overall recruitment plans for this year (FY11), because there is a lot of projects ramping up, we need to around 750-800 people," he said, adding the company has been getting projects at "higher rates".
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The company is chasing over 3-4 deals worth over $10 million, while there are at least 40-50 "prospects" in the pipeline, he said.
Zensar added 109 employees in April-June, taking its total headcount to 5,342, it said in a statement.
The IT firm expects an attrition of around 15-18 per cent in this fiscal, compared to under 7 per cent last year.
"Last year (FY10) was an exceptional year, while the previous year the attrition was at 18 per cent (FY09), and we expect to contain it at that (FY09) levels," Natarajan said.
For April-June, the company got good business from all its three major territories - South Africa, US and U.K - while the company has a limited exposure to continental Europe.
Earlier in the day, Zensar reported a 9 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 32.48 crore for April-June.
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"We are targeting a double-digit growth this year, both in revenues and profits, so I think we are very much in line for that," he said.
"...Unless there is a major issue of currency, or any European impact on UK, I think it would be a good year."
The Pune-based company is also evaluating three US companies for acquisitions in the range of $60-100 million. The company was looking to acquire companies with annual revenues of $40-120 million.
Shares of the company ended 0.21 per cent lower at Rs 349.15 each in a weak Mumbai market.