Calling up new profits

 It has been a stunning comeback by any standards. One year ago Hughes Software Services was down in the dumps.

 Its key clients, the global telecom giants, were bleeding and most analysts predicted they would take years to recover.

 Under the circumstances, the outlook for Hughes Software, which depended heavily on the telecom industry, looked bleak.

 Fast forward to this week. Hughes has turned in a sterling performance for the second quarter running.

 In the first quarter ended June 30, 2003 Hughes reported a rise in net profits of 245 per cent. It has followed that this quarter with a net profit rise of 106 per cent.

 The total income of the company has grown by 61 per cent to Rs 86.7 crore in the second quarter of 2003-04. That