Syntel net up 7% at $70.7 mn; pegs 2015 revs up to $1 bn

Software company Syntel today reported 7 per cent growth in net profit at USD 70.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
The Nasdaq-listed firm had posted net profit of USD 66.3 million in the year-ago period, it said in a statement.
Syntel's revenue rose by 5 per cent to USD 235.3 million in October-December period, from USD 223.3 million in the same quarter of 2013 fiscal. It follows January-December as the fiscal year.
Quarter-on-quarter, its net profit grew 15 per cent from USD 61.6 million in the July-September period, while revenue was up by 3 per cent from USD 228.3 million in the third quarter of 2014.

Syntel CEO and President Nitin Rakesh said: "During Q4 2014, we continued to execute well on our strategic and operational plans. We see numerous opportunities to build on this in 2015, as customers look for a strong partner with broad technological expertise and deep industry capabilities."
Interest in digital-led transformation initiatives remains high across the firm's focus industries as its clients look for ways to drive growth and enhance customer connect, he added.

"Syntel's robust capabilities in this area are helping our customers navigate through change while supporting a seamless transition for the critical systems that run their businesses," Rakesh said.

Its revenue for the entire year rose 11 per cent to USD 911.4 million, from USD 824.8 million in 2013. Net income for the year was USD 249.7 million compared to USD 219.7 million in 2013.
During 2014, Syntel spent USD 19.2 million in CAPEX, largely in support of campus infrastructure and finished the year with cash and short-term investments of USD 867.1 million.
The Company added 27 new clients during the year and ended 2014 with 24,553 employees globally.
On outlook, the firm said: "The company currently expects 2015 revenue of USD 985 million to USD 1.025 billion..."
Syntel also announced the deployment of SyntBots, an integrated autonomics platform.

SyntBots, developed on an open architecture, utilises next-generation robotic automation and autonomic computing to transform IT and process operations across the enterprise technology stack.
It automates and eliminates repetitive manual processes across IT operations and business processes, delivering up to 30 per cent reduction in 'run the business' costs and 70 per cent lower downtime.