NIIT Q4 net up 57% to Rs 41 cr

Leading IT solutions provider NIIT Technologies today reported a 57 per cent jump in its profit for the quarter ended March, even as a quarterly forex loss of Rs 12.5 crore has adversely hit the revenue flow.

Net profit for the fourth quarter was Rs 41.3 crore compared to Rs 26.3 crore in the same period last year. During the quarter under review, the company incurred a forex loss of Rs 12.5 crore. Revenues rose by just 5 per cent to Rs 239.2 crore up from Rs 227 crore in the year-ago quarter.

"The euro zone volatility and currency loss had impacted revenues by 3 per cent," NIIT Technologies chief executive Arvind Thakur told reporters here.

Profit increased by over 50 per cent due to lower taxes. Last year, in the same quarter the tax incidence was Rs 4 crore, compared to nil in this quarter, he added.
     
Thakur said NIIT will focus on emerging geographies such as India and the Middle East and the government vertical for new business. "Significant traction in emerging markets like Asia-Pacific regions and India helped mitigate challenges of exchange rate volatility in Europe. Going forward we expect to see more business from this geographies," he said.
      
Moreover, the firm expects a significant business to come from the government sector, which currently contributes only 8 per cent to overall revenue. Revenue share of the US is 33 per cent, APAC and India 29 per cent and Europe 33 percent.
    
"Fresh orders worth $124 million secured during the quarter created a healthy order position with  $147 million executable over the next 12 months," Thakur added.
     
During the quarter, NIIT bagged a Rs 228-crore contract from the Border Security Force. In addition, five more significant clients were added.
    
The company is having Rs 189.5 crore cash reserves, out of which Rs 25 crore will be used for expanding its Noida campus. The rest will be used for acquisitions.
    
The board has proposed a dividend of Rs 7 per equity share for the quarter.
     
The NIIT counter closed at Rs 188.50 on the BSE, up 0.48 per cent from previous close.