Birlasoft working on stabilising structure after merger with KPIT

Birlasoft is working on stabilising its structure after merging with KPIT, said CEO Dharmender Kapoor. 

“That's my first priority... it is a matrix structure that we have,” he said.

The two companies underwent a merger and demerger, resulting in the creation of separate and publicly listed entities KPIT Technologies and Birlasoft. While the latter operates in information technology services, KPIT will focus on automotive engineering and mobility solutions.

Kapoor sees some areas where there is good opportunity to cross-sell “to the clients that were there (earlier) because KPIT sold ERP services, whereas Birlasoft sold digital”. The plan is to hire ‘strong leaders’ and train employees in new technology.

“Three different sectors which will get most attention from our side would be manufacturing, life sciences/health care, and the financial industry (banking, financial services and insurance). These are the industries which will be our core focus areas while we also work with our customers in the energy and utilities space," Kapoor said.

“There is much emphasis given to training of employees on our offerings, to make it smoother for them to target the right set of clients, understand the market better and recognise the segments they need to work towards," he added.

Earlier this month, Birlasoft reported a sequential fall of 36.7 per cent in consolidated net profit for Q1 at Rs 41.8 crore. This was due to changes in tax structures, along with the impact of a one-time gain in the earlier quarter.

The June quarter was lacklustre for most mid-cap Indian IT service firms, with client pressure and visa costs eating into growth numbers. Client spending was also low. 
 

However, many say their revenues will be helped by inorganic growth.