eClerx Q2 net doubles to Rs 14 crore

Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firm eClerx’s net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2008 at Rs 14.07 crore almost doubled from Rs 6.53 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Revenues of the KPO firm at Rs 49.09 crore also doubled for the quarter from Rs 25.25 crore in the same quarter last financial year.

On a sequential basis, eClerx's net profit was down by 12.5 per cent due to a write-off of bad debts of Rs 2.27 crore. The company further has doubtful debt of Rs 2.63 crore on account of one of its key clients declaring bankruptcy. The company earlier in the month received 0.56 million (around Rs 2.6 crore) as the full and final payment by its US client. Revenue of the company on a quarter-on-quarter basis grew by 6.7 per cent from Rs 46 crore. 

P D Mundhra, executive director, eClerx, said, “The past six months have certainly been very eventful. Our clients have been challenged – one filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and two other were forced to merge with larger companies, all in the backdrop of a deep crisis of confidence in the global markets. In spite of this, our business posted a very healthy growth of 86 per cent in revenue and 78 per cent in net profit y-o-y, which is tremendous by any standard. We continue to see good demand for our services highlighting once again how important we are considered to be in our client’s operations.” 

For the quarter the company added three new clients. eClerx has a total of 57 clients.