Bonus issue from Cranes Software

Cranes Software International has announced the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of one share for every share held, a regular dividend of Rs 2 per share and a one time special dividend of Rs 3 per share, and spliting the stock into five shares of Rs 2 face value.

According to a company release, in 2004-05 net profit after tax increased 41.5 per cent to reach Rs 46 crore and operating revenues grew 43.7 per cent to reach Rs 163.3 crore. Earnings per share rose to Rs 45.27 compared to Rs 38.31 per share in the previous year.

Asif Khader, managing director, Cranes Software said, "In FY 2005, we launched new versions of our proprietary software products, acquired the NISA product line in the engineering software space, entered the IT services space and added substantial talent in key R&D and front-end sales functions."

Revenue from proprietary software products was higher by 45.8 per cent during the year, contribution 81 per cent of overall revenues. There has been considerable growth in business in the US and European regions following the launch of new versions of proprietary software products during the year.

NISA suite of products came through the acquisition of Engineering Mechanics Research Corporation, a pioneer in Computer Aided Engineering(CAE).

The company provides consulting services and customised software in this domain. The consideration for this acquisition is part of a deal of US $ 1.5 million including the US arm of the EMRC operation.

The acquisition will immediately allow Cranes Software to diversify into an expanded market in the scientific and engineering software field, specifically in the CAE domain.

It provides comprehensive CAE-related capabilities through a high quality products suite many years of product experience and extensive global usage backed by a worldwide sales and support organisation.

During the year Cranes Software was assessed at Level 5 of Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model in August 2004. The scope of the assessment covered software product development and services for the company?s scientific, engineering and enterprise applications.