MsourcE unperturbed by Q3 loss

BANGALORE: MsourcE, the call center subsidiary of MphasiS BFL,

has reported a net loss of Rs 1.89 crore for the third quarter

ended December 31, 2002, despite a sharp 347 per cent rise in

revenues year-on-year. Revenues for the quarter to December 2002

stood at Rs 26.22 crore against Rs 5.86 crore in the year-ago

period. Sequentially, the revenue grew 17.4 per cent.

The company management attributes the net loss to the huge

investment requirements. "We are not worried by the loss

reported by MsourcE. The business requires extraordinary

investments. We have invested more in telecommunication capacity

and other physical infrastructure like building in the third

quarter," said Jerry Rao, chairman and managing director of

Mphasis BFL.

Rise in cost due to employee addition and expenses towards

infrastructure building also added to the losses. MsourcE added

489 employees in the third quarter, taking its total strengthen

to 2,124 employees.

"The sequential increase of 17 per cent in MsourcE

revenues is unimpressive but not serious. The MsourcE story is as

powerful as it was in the earlier quarters," claims Rao.

MsourcE added three new clients in the quarter to December

2002, taking the list of its active clients to sixteen. Around 88

per cent of its revenues come from the US.

Source: IRIS