Slowdown drags NIIT's profit

CHENNAI, JULY 19.The net profit of NIIT in the nine months ended June 30, 2001 has declined to Rs. 83.45 crores from Rs. 133.31 crores in the corresponding period in 1999-2000. Global revenue of NIIT and its subsidiaries was higher at Rs. 891.24 crores against Rs. 871.15 crores.

International business contributed Rs. 485.50 crores while the balance of Rs. 405.70 crores was from Indian operations. The contribution through U. S operations was Rs. 252.70 crores, Asia Pacific Rs. 131.70 crores and Europe Rs. 101.10 crores.

Learning business contributed Rs. 398.50 crores, which constitute 45 per cent of total revenue and the software solution business Rs. 492.70 crores, constituting Rs. 55 per cent of total revenue.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2001, global revenue of NIIT and its subsidiaries has dropped to Rs. 236.41 crores from Rs.308.47 crores. Income from operations was lower at Rs. 150.59 crores against Rs. 201.91 crores. Other income accounted for Rs. 4.98 crores against Rs. 2.34 crores.

The total expenditure has spurted to Rs. 141.53 crores from Rs. 114.52 crores. The profit before tax was sharply lower at Rs. 5.29 crores against Rs. 80.92 crores.

According to Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar, Chairman of the company, the global economic slowdown had an early and larger than normal impact on NIIT.

The software business has seen a slowdown though quite in line with the revised estimates made in March this year. The education business, being a consumer business, has seen a rapid negative impact because of the falling consumer sentiment and confidence due to negative news about corporate results from most global markets.

In addition to focusing on legacy systems, NIIT had earlier in the year brought in structural changes to focus on the financial services sector. Proportion of revenues from this sector increased from 13 per cent in the last quarter to 19 per cent in the current quarter.

NIIT is to invest aggressively in brand building and technology upgradation.

Siemens

The consolidated turnover of Siemens for the nine months ended June 30, 2001 has increased by nine per cent to Rs. 808.60 crores from Rs. 741.20 crores. Overall, the automation and drives, transportation systems and the medical solutions businesses registered a higher growth. The company received new orders valued at Rs. 792.30 crores against Rs. 893.40 crores.

The net profit, before depreciation and taxation, was lower at Rs. 76.62 crores against Rs. 75.76 crores and the profit, after tax at Rs. 46.17 crores against Rs. 50.56 crores.

During the quarter ended June 30, 2001, the company has decided to go for buy back of equity shares from open market through stock exchange method, not exceeding 88.73 lakh equity shares of Rs. 10 each (25 per cent of the existing paid up capital of Rs. 35.49 crores) at a price not exceeding Rs. 250 per share and buy back consideration not exceeding Rs. 80.53 crores. As on June 30, the company had applied to buy back 2.14 lakh shares for which the extinguishment took place in July.

TN Telecom

Tamilnadu Telecommunication has increased its turnover by 79 per cent to Rs. 112.90 crores in the financial year 2000-01 from Rs. 63.08 crores in the previous year. The net profit has risen by 117 per cent to Rs. 5.03 crores. The company's state-of-the-art optic fibre cable plant at Maraimalai Nagar has made a significant contribution in its first full year of operation.

The directors have recommended a dividend of 15 per cent. The company has plans to expand the installed capacity of its optic fibre cable to 24,000 cable km. per annum from 17,136 ckm by investing in additional cabling machinery.

Shipping Corpn.

The public sector enterprise Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has registered a net profit of Rs. 111.72 crores during the first quarter of 2001-02.

The net profit of SCI during the same quarter of the previous year was only Rs. 19 crores, company sources said.

Net sales during the quarter increased significantly to Rs. 792.24 crores from Rs. 613.42 crores even as other income came down to Rs. 3.25 crores from Rs. 12.64 crores.

Interest charges slipped by a whopping Rs. 7.25 crores to Rs. 13.29 crores from Rs. 20.54 crores last year while depreciation charges stood marginally higher at Rs. 64.90 crores from Rs. 63.71 crores.

The profit before tax stood at Rs. 186.72 crores against Rs. 23 crores last year and the company had to made a higher provision of Rs. 75 crores for taxation against Rs. 4 crores in the first quarter of 2000-01.

Dephi Automotive Systems

Dephi Automotive Systems has reported a net income of $164 million, or $0.29 per share in the second quarter of the current year.

The net income margin was 2.4 per cent, compared to 5.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2000. Sales revenue was $6.9 billion, down 11 per cent from $7.8 billion.

The company generated strong operating cash flow of $312 million, excluding $92 million of employee separation and related payments associated with previously announced restructuring plans.

According to a release, North American vehicle production stabilised during the second quarter, although at much lower levels than last year. The ongoing soft aftermarket sales and a weaker euro and Brazilian real also contributed to the reduced revenue.

Commenting on the outlook for the third quarter, Mr. Alan S. Dawes, chief financial officer, said the global auto industry traditionally experiences lower volumes during the third quarter as carmakers undergo vehicle changeovers and other seasonal downtime.

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