Hughes Q2 results declared

NEW DELHI: Hughes Software Systems Limited (HSS) recorded net sales of Rs 521 Million for the second quarter ended September 30, 2002. The Profit After Tax for the quarter was Rs 83 million. For the half-year ended September 30, 2002, HSS recorded net sales of Rs 995 Million.

Talking about the company's near term prospects, Kumar said, "We have already implemented several measures to diversify revenues and have cost structure more commensurate with revenues. Our strategy to aggressively grow existing relationships in the OEM / TSP segments is showing progress. We expect that the HSS strategy of diversifying in to new verticals will show the desired results in the medium to long term. The broadened offerings will help HSS de-risk its business and reduce dependence on the telecom vertical."

HSS has added 11 new customers for products and 2 new customers for services in this quarter. Professional Services, during the quarter, grew sequentially by 17%. Higher volumes contributed towards this sequential growth. HSS saw an expansion of its relationship with NEC & Nokia and bagged repeat orders from JCI, SS8 and Leapstone.

HNS business, during the quarter, grew sequentially by 3%. TSP business, continues to grow and build a healthy funnel. Product business, during the quarter, grew sequentially by 7% over the previous quarter. The sequential growth was on account of closure of certain deals, which spilled over from the previous quarter.

HSS is progressing as per plan in its foray into the BPO/IT enabled Services business. The company has signed its first contract with the DirecWay Product Line of Hughes Network Systems for providing technical help desk. There was an all round improvement in the business metrics as compared to the previous quarter. EBIDTA margins improved by 8.2% and PAT margins improved by 6.4%, the company continued to be cash flow positive and there was a significant improvement in client quality.