Mphasis Q1 revenues up 23%

BANGALORE: Mphasis BFL, an Indian software services exporter and an early

entrant in the fast-growing back-office services field, said on Tuesday its

April-June net profit rose 4.5 per cent from the preceding quarter and nearly

tripled from a year earlier.

Mphasis, the first Indian IT company to report results, said consolidated

profit rose to Rs 138.5 million or Rs 7.83 a diluted share.

Revenue totaled Rs 895.2 million, up 6.6 per cent from the previous quarter

and 23 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Two analysts' forecasts

obtained by Reuters showed the Bangalore-based company was expected to post a

net profit between Rs 136 million to Rs 138 million on revenue of Rs 857 million

to Rs 887 million.

The company kept its full-year 60 to 70 per cent profit growth forecast and a

25 to 28 per cent revenue growth estimate, which is higher than the industry

average. Mphasis' shares were trading at Rs 566 soon after the late morning

release of the results, up 3.9 per cent from the previous close.

Shares of Mphasis have been one of the best performers in the sector in

calendar 2002, surging 82 per cent as fund managers bet that its rapidly-growing

back-office subsidiary would boost growth. Mumbai's information technology index

has fallen more than seven per cent in the same period.

(C) Reuters Limited.