|
How do you characterize the performance of the company during FY 08?
We have had a good year having grown by 44% from Rs 771 crore to Rs 1,126
crore. We have achieved a turnover of Rs 1,000+ crore in 10 years which is a
significant landmark. Our billing rates have also improved. This indicates a
high level of acceptance by our customers.
Can you talk about some significant developments during this period?
Good headway has been made in the telecom, technology, healthcare and retail
verticals. We have also enhanced our Data Analytics capabilities with a strong
team of PhDs and functional specialists across multiple areas like CRM, BFSI and
Retail.
What key challenges did you face this year, and what were the strategies
adopted in terms of global delivery of your services?
A key challenge was the realignment of business objectives by companies in
the US. One strategy has been to focus on adding business value to the customer.
This has paid off with the increase in billing rates and increase in total
revenue. The total number of customers has also increased. Another challenge was
to increase the percentage of revenues from other geographies.
Apart from US and Europe, can you comment on other geographies that you
saw good traction from last fiscal?
Our focus on the Indian market is beginning to pay off and revenues have
grown. We have also been more active in the Middle East, and the outcome of that
will add to the revenues.
Can you talk about some of the inorganic initiatives undertaken in FY 08?
We acquired Agadia, a US-based company that is bringing innovative solutions
to the world of prior authorization in Healthcare.
Agadia Systems has rich experience in the Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBMs)
sector and specializes in utilization management of products, systems and
operations. Prithvi is now one of the few companies providing automation
services in the integration of pharmacy and medical benefits.
Agadias services help alleviate the excessive burden on health plans, and
physicians, whose savings are impacted by high administrative costs. Prithvi
will endeavor to leverage the expertise gained from this acquisition to mine its
existing client-base in the healthcare vertical. The acquisition of Agadia
Systems will help build a profitable enterprise and deliver high returns. This
market segment holds enormous potential for Prithvi.
|
Performance Highlights (AMJ 08 (Q1 FY
09) |
- Revenue up 60.7% from Rs 2,384.1mn in Q1
FY 08 to Rs 3,831.7mn in Q1 FY 09 driven by growing client engagement
size
- $5 mn clients increased from 4 in Q1 FY
08 to 20 in Q1 FY 09 and $10 mn clients increased from 0 in Q1 FY 08 to
2 in Q1 FY 09
- Added 8 new customers during Q1 FY 09
- Earnings Before Interest Tax and
Depreciation (EBITD)* up 45.4% from Rs 326.8mn in Q1 FY 08 to Rs 475.3mn
in Q1 FY 09
- EBITD Margin* declined from 13.7% in Q1 FY
08 to 12.4% in Q1 FY 09 due to
- Increase in software development
expenditure as a percentage of revenues from 72.7% in Q1 FY 08 to 75.2%
in Q1 FY 09 for strengthening the execution team of software
professionals.
- The decline in margin was partially offset
by decline in SG&A and Employee cost as a percentage of revenues due to
economies of scale
- Selling General and Administrative
expenses as a percentage of revenue declined from 6.2% in Q1 FY 08 to
5.6% in Q1 FY 09
- Employees cost as a percentage of revenues
declined from 7.4% in Q1 FY 08 to 6.8% in Q1 FY 09
- Net Profit after tax* up 52.7% from Rs
283.3mn in Q1 FY 08 to Rs 432.6mn in Q1 FY 09; Net Profit Margin down
from 11.8% to 11.2% due to decrease in EBITD Margin
- Increase in interest and financial cost
from Rs 15.5 mn in Q1 FY 08 to Rs 37.3 mn in Q1 FY 09 due to increase in
debt to finance the working capital requirement
- *Before provision of Rs 646 mn on account
of MTM on derivatives, Rs 116mn on account of MTM on forward contracts,
foreign exchange gain of Rs 260.3 mn in Q1 FY 09,
- *JAS FY 09 results are yet to be
announced
|
In terms of number of employees, can you share the total head count as on
March 31, 2008 and percentage increase as compared to FY 07?
The increase is from 1,747 to 2,821about 60%
Given the global flux in the economy and financial services, how well is
Prithvi insulated from the crisis? Can you talk about your strategy?
This has impacted mainly the financial services. Our revenue from the BFSI
vertical this year is just 5% of the total revenue. So the impact will be
marginal. In addition, since FY 07 we have increased our focus on non-US
geographies and this trend continues.
You have been operating in Hyderabad for the last many years, what are
your thoughts on the destination? Has the availability of manpower and
infrastructure met your expectations?
Hyderabad is rated amongst Indias Top 3 IT destinations. Thus Hyderabad has
been able to cater to growing requirements. This scaling up is a continuous
process.
In terms of infrastructure growth the city is continuously expanding. There
is a lot of activity in the city periphery with inputs from both the government
and the private sector.
In terms of manpower, a number of technical colleges have been established in
Hyderabad and AP. There is an inflow of young graduates from other parts of AP
and also from other states. All these factors have ensured availability of
manpower with the required skill-sets.
What according to you are some of the significant advantages of operating
out of Hyderabad?
Good infrastructure, availability of qualified manpower, less expensive than
some other tier-1 cities, scope for expansion, good connectivity (both domestic
and international) are key attractions.
With the global meltdown, do you see any slowdown in new investments
coming to Hyderabad or in the IT spending pattern?
The need is felt now for better regulations and monitoring in the BFSI
sector. The slowdown means that global corporates will have to reduce spending
while maintaining the existing level of service to their clients. Both these
factors will enlarge and enhance the scope of outsourcing. While there may be an
immediate slowdown in investments, this is likely to increase as soon as the
dust settles down, in the near future.
This will compensate the slowdown caused by reduction in existing business
and by mergers of companies.
Shrikanth G
shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in
Page(s) 1
| 
Print
Comment
Email
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Twitter
