 "Protean eGov drops 7% on weak Q4 results; stock down 34% from record high")
Protean eGov Technologies' stock price dropped 6.7 per cent to Rs 1,133 apiece on the BSE in Wednesday's intraday trade after the small-cap company posted weak set of results for the March quarter (Q4) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24).
At 10:18 AM, the stock was quoting 4 per cent lower at Rs 1,169 per share as against 0.24 per cent dip in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. With today's fall, the stock has come off 34 per cent from its all-time high level of Rs 1,712 per share hit on February 6, 2024. It hit a record low of Rs 775 on its listing date -- November 13, 2023.
Protean eGov's Q4 FY24 net profit fell 39 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 19 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, however, profit rose 27 per cent
Similarly, Protean eGov's revenue from operations slipped 4 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 222 crore versus Rs 232 crore in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, it was up 9 per cent.
It's Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) adjusted for doubtful debt fell 8 per cent Y-o-Y/3 per cent Q-o-Q to Rs 48 crore during the quarter under review.
For the whole FY24, Protean eGov Technologies reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 882 crore, up 19 per cent Y-o-Y on the back of double digit revenue growth across core business verticals.
Net profit, on the other hand, stood at Rs 97 crore in FY24, down 9 per cent Y-o-Y with PAT margin of 10.2 per cent. Decline in profits, the management said, was mainly due to increase in depreciation on account of new investments and provision for doubtful debt.
Adjusted Ebitda stood at Rs 196 crore in FY24, up 11 per cent Y-o-Y with Ebitda margin contracting to 20.6 per cent vs 22.6 per cent in FY23. The dip is mainly due to continuous investment in new business lines in line with the company's future growth strategy.
Segment wise, Protean eGov's Pension Services segment grew at 14 per cent Y-o-Y during FY24, and Identity Services segment grew by 62 per cent. The company ventured inot new businesses like Open Digital Ecosystem (ODE), Account Aggregator, RISE with Protean, AI powered CKYC Solution during the year.
Protean eGov dividend announcement
The board of directors of Protean eGov Technologies recommended final dividend of 100 per cent on the face value i.e. Rs. 10 per equity share for FY24.
Protean eGov Technologies Limited is engaged in the business of developing citizen-centric and population-scale e-governance solutions. Protean is an information technology-enabled solutions company conceptualising, developing, and executing critical and population-scale greenfield technology solutions.
