Mindtree Q4 net up over 87% at Rs 182.2 cr, expects FY19 to better

Mid-sized software services firm Mindtree today reported over 87 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 182.2 crore for January-March, 2018, and said it expects the current fiscal to be significantly better than 2017-18.

The firm had posted a net profit of Rs 97.2 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue rose by 11.1 per cent to Rs 1,464 crore in the January-March 2018 period from Rs 1,318.1 crore a year ago.

"We ended the year on a strong note, and seeing that momentum creating a healthy start to our new fiscal year...We expect the ongoing fiscal to be significantly better than the previous one (FY2018)," Mindtree CEO and Managing Director Rostow Ravanan said on a conference call.

In dollar terms, Mindtree's net profit surged over 95 per cent to USD 28.2 million, while revenue grew 15.6 per cent to USD 226.2 million in the quarter under review.

Asked about the deal pipeline, Ravanan said the company was very positive on the demand environment.

"We are very positive on the demand environment on the back of a very strong fourth quarter, where we saw deal wins of USD 300 million. Of this, USD 100 million was for digital. In terms of geography, US and Europe are doing well," he added.

For the year ended on March 31, 2018, the company's net profit grew 36.2 per cent to Rs 570 crore, while revenue was up 4.3 per cent to Rs 5,462.8 crore as over the previous fiscal.

Mindtree had 338 active clients as of March 31, 2018. It added 523 people during the quarter on net basis, taking its headcount to 17,723 people.

"This year, we are looking at hiring 1900 campus graduates and later hiring will be on need basis," he said.

Ravanan said the company will rolled out wage hikes with effect from April, which will have an impact of 300 basis points on the margins.

However, with increased efficiency and other levers, the company expects to more than make up for the wage impact.