3i Infotech problems continue to hound growth; net loss for Q4 at Rs 396 cr

The total debt of the company came down to Rs 2,655 crore in FY15, from Rs 3,815 cr in FY14

Mid-cap IT services solutions firm 3i Infotech's attempt to be a profitable company seems to hitting a hurdle. For the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2015 the company reported net loss of Rs 396 crore, losses were higher compared to loss of Rs 299.7 crore in corresponding quarter last year.

Losses on a sequential basis were up more than three times. In the quarter ended December 31, 2014 3i Infotech had loss of Rs 102.4 crore.

Revenue for the quarter at Rs 305.31 crore for the quarter was down 9.6 per cent from Rs 334.7 crore in the same quarter last year; on a sequential basis it was down 4.4 per cent.

B Madhivanan, Managing Director & Global CEO, 3i Infotech in a press statement said, "The initiatives aimed at streamlining the operations have delivered healthy results as EBITDA for Q4FY15 has risen reasonably over both the preceding quarter as well as last year."

The company also continued to see management churn. Charanjit Attra, CFO and executive director at the company resigned from his post as having decided to pursue opportunities in the areas of advisory services relating to accounting and auditing.

The company which is trying to get back on growth track with its new management had earlier stated that they would look at selling some of its assets to repay debt. According to the results, the company has sold two assets, one in second quarter of FY15 and another in Q3.

According to company filings, during the nine months ended 31st December 2014, in line with the approval from CDR, the company divested its e-Commerce business and product business in UK, at a net loss of Rs 287.64 crore.

The only positive news that the company's balance sheet showed was reduction in total debt and liability on a year-on-year basis. The total debt of the company was at Rs 2,655.3 crore for FY15 down from Rs 3,815 crore in the last year.

Meanwhile, the ICICI Bank, which had a substantial stake in the company has been selling its shares in open market. The bank has trimmed down its stake to just about 6 per cent from 18.7 per cent in March 2015.