Educomp slips into red in Q4; posts net loss of Rs 148 crore

Education and training company Educomp Solutions slipped into the red and posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 147.93 crore, for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. This was due to a lower income from operations and on the back of expenses incurred for changes in inventories of finished goods, wip and stock-in-trade. In Q4, 2012 the company had posted a net profit of Rs 61.53 crore.

The net sales (total income) of the company saw a 34.5% drop and stood at Rs 336.41 crore. However, there was a rise in this figure as compared to the third quarter. School Learning Solutions segment saw the biggest drop in revenue and was 54.8% lower than the same period last year.

This segment contributed Rs 184.1 crore in Q4 2013, as compared to Rs 407.8 crore in Q4 2012. Further, while the online supplemental and global segment saw a 86.1% rise in revenue, it saw a 91% drop in profit before tax and interest for the quarter, in comparison to same quarter in FY12.

In terms of expenses, while the company saw a decrease in total expenses for the quarter compared to Q4 2012, the other expenses category in this segment witnessed a 31% increase on a y-o-y basis. For the full year, Educomp posted a net loss of Rs 132.8 crore for FY2013 as compared to net profit of Rs 135.5 crore in FY2012.

In the financial 2012-13, Educomp has made exits in segments which it calls 'non-core'. In April 2013, the company sold its entire 50% stake in the vocational training firm IndiaCan, to its joint venture partner Pearson. Similarly in March this year, they completed the sale of its entire 50% stake in Eurokids International Limited to a group of investors led by GPE India.

"Educomp will now operate in a larger set-up in areas with larger market opportunity," Educomp’s Chairman and Managing Director Shantanu Prakash had told Business Standard earlier. He had then said that they would focus on improvement, in operational efficiencies, strong backbone and then grow rapidly,