Persistent Systems (PERSISTENT) Q4 11/12 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY 2011-12 consolidated revenue crossed ₹10,000 million, marking the 22nd consecutive year of revenue growth; expansion added operations in France and Malaysia.

• Growth continued amid demand slowdown and customer ramp-downs from Q2, supported by product engineering, sell-with partnerships and IP-led work.

Financial highlights

• Consolidated revenue was ₹10,003.11 million, up 28.9% YoY in rupees and 21.8% in USD to $207.39 million.

• EBITDA was ₹2,579.64 million, up 33.8%; PBT reached ₹1,968.68 million, versus ₹1,503.53 million.

• Net income was ₹1,417.80 million, up 1.5% before and after exceptional/prior-period items; basic EPS was ₹37.02 versus ₹37.04.

• Total expenses rose to ₹8,370.20 million from ₹6,599.24 million; personnel expenses were ₹6,407.29 million, up 25.1%.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expected technology-refresh activity and investments in cloud, analytics, collaboration and mobility to support sustainable growth over the next few years.

• IP-led initiatives, sell-with partnerships and solutions-oriented selling were positioned to support growth and improve margins; management expressed confidence in strategic alignment.

• Further inorganic opportunities would be evaluated to strengthen the portfolio or geographic reach and support profitable growth.