Hexaware net declines 14% to Rs 86 cr in Sept quarter

Net profit impacted by higher expenses towards employee benefits; revenue was up 7%

Mid-size information-technology services company Hexaware Technologies on Wednesday reported a 14 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 86 crore in the September quarter, compared to the year-ago period.

The year-on-year fall in net profit was attributed to higher expenses towards employee benefits. The reported bottom line was, however, ahead of Bloomberg estimates of Rs 83.5 crore.

The company’s revenue grew seven per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 670 crore.

On a sequential basis, the net profit was up 12 per cent, while the revenues grew nine per cent. Hexaware’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin for the quarter was 18 per cent, up 140 basis points from 16.6 per cent in the quarter under review.

The revenue growth during the July-September period (it's the third financial quarter for Hexaware) was broad-based, with Europe leading the geographic growth and banking & financials and emerging segments heading growth among verticals, the company said. Business Intelligence & Business Analytics and Infrastructure Management Services led the growth among service lines, it added.

During the quarter, the company added 10 new clients of which three were in the Healthcare and Insurance vertical and one client each was added in the Banking & Financial Services and in the Travel & Transportation space.

At the end of September, the company's headcount stood at 9,697, up 410 from the previous quarter. The company's attrition in the period under review remained at 13 percent.

At the end of the day's trading on the BSE, Hexaware's share price went up 9.89 per cent at Rs 216.15.