Aztec Software posts Q1 loss

MUMBAI: Aztec Software and Technology Services Ltd., a mid-sized Indian

software services, on Tuesday posted a loss of Rs 67.3 million for the

April-June quarter, causing its shares to tumble.

The Bangalore-based provider of Internet-centric software services, which

earned a profit of Rs 68.3 million in the year-earlier period, attributed the

slide into the red to several one-time charges. Yet revenue also plunged -- to

Rs 112.3 million from 250.7 million a year earlier.

In a statement, the company said it set aside Rs 11 million against doubtful

debts and Rs 30 million toward an affiliate's losses. Shortly after the results

were announced, Aztec's stock was trading at Rs 41.35, down 8.9 percent from the

previous close.

Aztec Software was founded in 1996 and its stock began trading on the Bombay

Stock Exchange in October 2000. Its initial public offering (IPO) sold for Rs 80

a share.

Aztec was one of three second-tier Indian software companies announcing

results on Tuesday, giving investors an early glimpse of how India's crucial IT

companies performed over the difficult past three months.

As of Monday's close, the Bombay Stock Exchange's information technology

index had fallen eight per cent in 2002 compared to a three percent rise in the

BSE benchmark index.

(C) Reuters Limited.