Persistent System’s Q4 net profit up 26%

Persistent System's intellectual property-led business grew 123.6 per cent.

Infotech firm Persistent Systems today said its consolidated net profit increased by 25.9 per cent to Rs 51.88 crore for January-March 2013 on the back of strong growth in intellectual property-led business.

The company’s net profit stood at Rs 41.21 crore in the same period last year.

Its total income stood at Rs 333.95 crore in the reported quarter,up 23.4 per cent from Rs 270.62 crore registered in the same period last year.

“Our growth is a result of continued execution of key strategic initiatives in platform solutions and IP-led business. Our revenues from the IP business have doubled in the year and there has been strong growth in platform solutions business as well,” Persistent Systems Chairman and Managing Director Anand Deshpande said.

Revenues from infrastructure and systems stood at Rs 222 crore,while that from telecom and wireless was Rs 6.1 crore during the fourth quarter. Lifesciences and healthcare segment revenues were reported at Rs 35.6 crore.

For the fiscal ended March 31,2013,the company’s net profit grew 32.3 per cent to Rs 187.61 crore,while revenues were up 29.4 per cent to Rs 1,294.51 crore.

Intellectual property-led business grew 123.6 per cent to constitute 17.2 per cent of the revenue for the year ended March 31,2013.

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During the fourth quarter,Persistent announced a licensing deal with Hewlett Packard for HP Client Automation (HPCA) software.

“This technology acquisition will underscores our commitment to expand our intellectual property portfolio. It will start contributing to the revenues from this quarter and given the strong growth we have seen,we are confident of FY’14 being a good year for us,” he said.

The Board of Directors has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3 per share for 2012-13. The company had paid an interim dividend of Rs 6 per share during 2012-13,taking the total dividend for the year to Rs 9 per share.

Persistent’s capex for FY’13 stood at Rs 106 crore and it expects the same to be higher this year.

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“Last year,we invested Rs 106 to expand our units,for royalties and acquisitions. This year too,we are actively looking for acquisitions to strengthen our portfolio. So,we expect the capex for this year to be a little higher,” he said.

The company added 250 people in the fourth quarter,taking the total headcount to 6,970.

“We have given campus offers to 500 people. In FY’14,we expect a net addition in headcount of 600-800 people,” Deshpande said.