i-flex Q3 net zooms to Rs 111 cr

i-flex solutions, an IT solutions provider to the global financial services industry, has posted a consolidated net income (Indian GAAP) of Rs 111.2 crore (Rs 1.11 billion), recording a 106 per cent growth compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal.

The company also registered a top-line growth of 44 per cent year-on-year for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 to touch Rs 557.4 crore (Rs 5.57 billion) as compared to Rs 388 crore (Rs 3.88 billion) for the corresponding quarter during the previous fiscal.

The company's net income registered a 12 per cent sequential (quarter-on-quarter) growth while its revenues rose by 19 per cent over last quarter's figures. The EBITDA for the quarter increased 10 per cent sequentially.

Rajesh Hukku, chairman and managing director, attributed the growth to "a significant mindset change in the global financial industry with greater attention to the state of ageing core systems. The combined Oracle/i-flex force is already making a difference in winning several top tier names as customers".

Deepak Ghaisas, CEO, India operations and CFO, added: "As the company is expanding global operations, we are judiciously investing in creating a highly responsive infrastructure to support growth."

Overall, the company added 42 customers taking the overall number of customers serviced to 723. The top 5 customers' contribution to the total revenues dropped from 25 per cent to 22 per cent.

i-flex's non-Citi revenues' share increased to 52 per cent, up from 49 per cent in the last quarter. The company's new license fee signings stand at $24.3 million (a little over Rs 100 crore) in the quarter (up from $16.4 in the last quarter), and tank size (product revenue) at the quarter end touched the $73.6 million (around Rs 330 crore) - an increase from $67.5 million at the end of last quarter.

Flexcube, the company's flagship products, continued to lead the win momentum, adding 11 new relationships in the quarter and taking its total customer count to 304.

This quarter, i-flex signed deals with the Peoples Bank, US and completed the acquisition of Mantas. Reveleus and Mantas continue to gain market share, registering 5 new wins in the quarter across the US, Asia-Pacific and Africa regions.

The company's services business too posted a 23 per cent YoY rise. The company's offshore activities accounted for 29 per cent this quarter while onsite accounted for the rest.

i-flex saw a gross addition of 989 employees in the quarter. Its Knowledge Process Outsourcing business added a net 133 employees in the quarter. The total staff strength of the group increased to 8,546.

The product business revenue registered a 23 per cent sequential increase and 52 per cent YoY growth while its operating income increased 22 per cent  sequentially.

However, its attrition rate for the quarter stands at 19 per cent. Though it's a percentage point lower than last quarter, it is up 3 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter's figure last fiscal.