Firstsource to focus on organic growth, reducing attrition

Pure-play BPO major Firstsource Solutions plans to focus on organic growth and expanding its existing platforms, with acquisitions not a priority for the moment, a top company official has said.

"Our priorities revolve around organic growth and our focus is on growing our existing platforms," Firstsource Solutions Managing Director & CEO Matthew Vallance told PTI here.

The firm operates in four verticals -- healthcare, financial services, telecom and an Asia Business Unit (India business).

If the company does indulge in an acquisition, it would be a small-sized one, he said. "If at all we acquire a company, it will be a small one."

The company has also "substantially improved" its staff-retention, another key focus area for it, he said.

"We are focusing on reducing attrition and in Q3, there has been a substantial improvement in our staff-retention numbers," Vallance said, adding that 1,759 personnel were added during the quarter.

The company's headcount, as of December, 2010, stood at 26,668.

Firstsource clocked 4.8% growth in revenue to Rs 514.6 crore in Q3, FY'11, vis-a-vis the year-ago period, while its profit-after-tax increased by 4.9% to Rs 35 crore.

The company expects to achieve a strong performance in both revenue and profitability in Q4, FY'11, on the back of strong collections, a healthy order-book and the full impact of its Barclaycard deal in the UK, Vallance said.

"Q4 is the strongest quarter for collections. There were a few delays in receipts from our healthcare vertical from the last quarter, which we hope to catch-up in Q4. Besides, our Barclaycard UK deal will kick-in for the full quarter, which should boost our revenue and bottomline," the Firstsource Managing Director said.

Barclaycard has engaged Firstsource as a strategic partner to manage its credit card and payment businesses in the UK under a five-year outsourcing agreement, which commenced on November 1, 2010.