IT and consulting services provider Mahindra Satyam, on Thursday, reported a 15 per cent decline in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.
The company’s net during the quarter stood at Rs. 454 crore as against Rs. 534 crore in the corresponding period previous fiscal.
Revenue during the quarter, however, registered 16 per cent growth at Rs. 1,936 crore against Rs. 1,666 crore in the year-ago period.
The growth in revenue was almost flat on a sequential basis as the company reported Rs. 1,940 crore in revenue during the third quarter ended December 31, 2012.
The company announced a 30 per cent dividend to the shareholders. Mahindra Satyam chairman Vineet Nayyar said it symbolised the company’s complete turnaround over the last four years, ever since it fell into crisis following erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Limited founder B. Ramalinga Raju’s admission of misstated accounts.
The company had stopped giving dividend from 2008-09.
“The company is fully fit and hopefully the long wait for the shareholders is over,” he said, while announcing the results.
Higher tax provision
Profit for the quarter was dented following a Rs. 75 crore provision for tax which the company deferred paying during the previous fiscal. For the full year, net profit declined by 10.9 per cent from Rs. 1,306 crore to Rs. 1,164 crore, while revenue was at Rs. 7,693 crore, up 20.3 per cent. Mr. Nayyar and Mahindra Satyam CEO C.P. Gurnani said the company was hopeful of better performance during the current fiscal. .
Demand was likely to grow as the U.S. economy showed an upswing, according to company officials, but there was a cloud in the form of proposed H1-B visa regime, which would have an impact across the IT industry. The company was closely working with the industry body Nasscom on the issue.
“We are getting prepared for the impact whatsoever it may be,” Mr. Gurnani said.
New accounts
The CEO said the company added 43 new accounts during the fiscal and it was being invited to large deals. But, the win ratio was lot lower and conversion was no way comparable to industry levels.
“We have evolved specific measures to augment our focus and strategy on the digital world, which will definitely yield results,” he said.
