Offshore Centres, weak rupee helps Satyam net Rs 354.12 cr profit

Hyderabad, July 21 (UNI) Spurred by significant contributions from Enterprise business solutions and a 'high level' of offshore centres, Information Technology(IT) major Satyam Computers Services Ltd, has posted a net profit of Rs 354.12 crore in first quarter of 2006-07, indicating a sequential growth of 24.40 per cent and Year On Year (YOY) growth of 86.18 per cent.

Thanks to depreciating rupee, Satyam, the fourth largest software company in the country, earned a revenue of Rs 1,443 crore, up 9.34 per cent sequentially and 36.3 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

Releasing the Q1 results at a press conference here, its Chairman B Ramalinga Raju announced continuing with the healthy trend of more off-shore centres, his company would set up new centres in South America, Eastern Europe and also near shore centres to ensure more balanced delivery system.

Commenting on the results, Mr Raju said ''the revenue and EPS for Q1 have exceeded the forecasted range on the back of robust volume growth and a favourable exchange movement during the quarter. The growth continues to be broadbased across verticals and service offerings. Offshore contribution continued to increase in Q1, reflecting our maturity in leveraging the global delivery model effectively to deliver enhanced value for the customer''.

Overcoming the bearish sentiment in the market, the Satyam closed the day at Rs 687 against Rs 685.15, yesterday, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after touching a high of Rs 719, even as many scrips, including IT majors, incurred losses.

The revenue guidance for the current year was revised upwards and it was expected to be in the range of Rs 6,190 crore and Rs 6290 crore against earlier forecast of Rs 6000 crore to 6,100 crore. With Earning Per Share(EPS) standing at Rs 10.87 in the quarter, the EPS guidance for the year was revised from Rs 38.90 to Rs 39.50 from earlier guidance of Rs 36 to Rs 36.6.

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