Cranes Software's 3Q consolidated revenues increase 126%
Hazell Carr and Progeon announce exclusive BPO alliance
Oracle selects and deploys over 1,000TB of Network Appliance Storage as part of its internal IT Infrastructure
Wipro 01-markets wins the 'Golden Peacock Award for Innovation Management'
Canon Introduces World's Fastest Digital Camera For Professional Action Shots
APC introduces new 800VA High Performance UPS for Business Computers
Network Appliance announces George Thomas as Country Manager for India
Cadence supports 64-BIT Intel® Itanium® 2-based platforms running Linux
Cranes Software International Limited along with its German principal dSPACE announces the MATLAB R13SP1 Compatibility Update for dSPACE Release 4.0
Geometric's Net Profit Up 15%, Revenues Up 11% Sequentially
eInfochips selects Cadence incisive verification platform
Digital Q3FY2004 Revenues up 46%, Net Profit up 32%
Infosys increases guidance for revenue and EPS for fiscal 2004
Cranes Software International Ltd. announces its decision to acquire Sigma product line from SPSS Inc. for a total sum of US $ 13 million
NetScreen Leads in Security Appliance Market Share Growth According to Market Research Report
Cranes Software's shareholders approve GDR issue
Back to Current News
Cranes Software's 3Q consolidated revenues increase 126%
Net Profit grows by 190% to Rs. 84.3 million Quarterly EPS at Rs. 10.01
Bangalore, January 30, 2004
Cranes Software International Ltd. (CSIL), a global scientific and engineering software solutions provider, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended December 31, 2003.
Group performance review quarter ended December 31, 2003:
CSIL's consolidated operating revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2003 was higher by 126% to Rs. 289.9 million compared to Rs. 128.1 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Operating profit increased by 210% at Rs. 155.2 million in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2004 from Rs. 50.1 million as margins increased to 53.5%. Net profit after tax increased by 190% to Rs. 84.3 million from Rs. 29.1 million.
On a nine monthly basis, CSIL's operating revenues increased to Rs. 619.8 million from Rs. 352.9 million in the corresponding period last year, growing by 76%. Operating profit and Net profit expanded by 114% and 100% respectively to Rs. 331.0 million and Rs. 173.5 million. Earnings per share during the period was Rs. 20.6.
CSIL stand-alone performance review:
CSIL's operating revenues for the quarter increased by 140% to Rs. 265.0 million compared to Rs. 110.3 million in the corresponding quarter previous year, while net profit after tax increased by 119% to Rs. 71.4 million from Rs. 32.6 million.
On a nine monthly basis, CSIL's operating revenues increased by 118% to Rs. 552.2 million compared to Rs. 252.9 million in the corresponding period last year. Net profit after tax stood at Rs. 165.3 million from Rs. 71.2 million, an increase of 132%.
Commenting on the performance for Q3 FY2004, Mr. Asif Khader, Managing Director, Cranes Software International Limited, said:
"In the third quarter, we have maintained our strong growth trajectory and the results are in line with our internal objectives. And importantly, much has been achieved over the last few months - milestones that further deepen our relationships with the community of global scientists. We have initiated the acquisition process for the Sigma product line, significantly enhancing our focused portfolio of global products. We have also invested in ESQUBE, a communication technology innovator, extended our relationship with Texas Instruments to the ASEAN region and expanded our international network with new subsidiaries in Singapore and Germany.
We are delighted that our initiatives have led to recognition as the fastest growing technology company in India by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, based on our achievements over the last two years. We are confident that given the progress achieved in the current year, we will continue to show ongoing outperformance in the future."
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Hazell Carr and Progeon announce exclusive BPO alliance
January 29, 2004; Bangalore, India and London, UK
Hazell Carr and Progeon today announced the formation of a strategic alliance that will offer corporations in the life and pensions market in the UK a unique value proposition. The alliance will provide customers in the country the dual advantage of Hazell Carr's immense domain knowledge and experience in this space as well as Progeon's strong technology expertise and process disciplines. Together, Hazell Carr and Progeon will also offer clients an integrated onshore/offshore outsourcing option, under which work can be performed at locations of both companies which are best suited for the client.
Hazell Carr's areas of expertise include long-term business process outsourcing in group pensions administration as well as short-term outsourcing in areas such as endowment complaints. Through its subsidiary HCPC plc, it also provides final salary administration and advice for the trustees of pension schemes. Progeon, a subsidiary of Infosys Technologies Ltd, is a leading business process management company based in India, which, through its Global Delivery model, provides clients with faster high-quality and cost-effective solutions based on sound technical excellence.
Announcing the decision, David Carr, Chairman, Hazell Carr said, "We are impressed with Progeon's superiority in technology and business solutions and their ability to respond quickly and innovatively to customer's needs. The strength of their delivery model which enables us to provide our clients with high quality on-site/off-shore policy administration at competitive prices was yet another feature that attracted us to Progeon. Together, I am sure, we will be able to offer our clients a unique proposition."
Describing the business model created by the partnership with Hazell Carr, Akshaya Bhargava, CEO, Progeon said, "This is a fundamentally different model from what is available in the market today. The combination of world class process skills, deep domain knowledge and a best shore operations model has unique benefits and far reaching implications for UK customers. We look forward to working with Hazell Carr."
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Oracle selects and deploys over 1,000TB of Network Appliance Storage as part of its internal IT Infrastructure
Enterprise Software Giant Deploys NetApp® Storage to Help Reduce Complexity, Improve Scalability, and Lower Cost
Bangalore January 29, 2004
Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced that Oracle has implemented NetApp storage solutions as part of its mission-critical infrastructure, including Oracle Outsourcing, E-Business Suite development, and platform engineering. Oracle has deployed more than 1,000TB of NetApp storage throughout its infrastructure. This massive deployment demonstrates the robust nature of NetApp storage solutions for a variety of mission- and business-critical implementations, as well as the scalability and simplicity of NetApp solutions.
Oracle has selected NetApp as a key storage provider for its storage infrastructure and is deploying NetApp FAS series, NearStore®, and NetCache® systems to build and maintain next-generation database and applications software. This deployment will reduce development and quality assurance time cycles and therefore accelerate time to market for new Oracle® software solutions. Because Oracle's development infrastructure is now utilizing NetApp solutions, customers will have greater assurance of seamless compatibility and deployment in Oracle environments with the latest Oracle releases.
"Network Appliance continues to distinguish its storage solutions with ease of management and scalability, which are crucial to Oracle and our mutual customers," stated Juan Jones, vice president, Systems Platform Division at Oracle.
NetApp storage is being used to run Oracle's Outsourcing business and enable Oracle to provide Oracle Outsourcing customers with the highest performance and data availability. Oracle also utilizes NetApp storage for all of its Oracle E-Business Suite core development and regression testing, helping streamline the entire development and quality assurance process.
'Oracle's broad deployment of NetApp for its own business clearly signals to others that Oracle on NetApp is not only viable, but also highly reliable and productive. Today's enterprises are powered by sophisticated database and business applications, and NetApp storage has proven to be the ideal choice," said Mark Santora, senior vice president of Marketing at Network Appliance. "Our joint customers can leverage the tight product compatibility between Oracle and NetApp, making joint solutions easy to deploy and manage."
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Wipro 01-markets wins the 'Golden Peacock Award for Innovation Management'
Bangalore, January 29, 2004
Wipro 01markets, the leading e-procurement service provider in the country has been awarded the prestigious 'Golden Peacock Award' for the second time for Innovation management at the recently concluded '14th World Congress on Total Quality' in Bangalore. The award constituted by the The Institute of Directors (IOD) was presented to Mr. Pradeep V Bahirwani Head, Global Sales, Wipro 01-markets by Mr. R V Deshapande, Minister of Industries, Government of Karnataka.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Bahirwani said, "Wipro 01markets is proud to have received this prestigious award. It is the second time in 4 year existence that we are winning this award, it only goes to show our constant endeavor to be the best in innovation management."
Adding his remarks, Mr. Manoj K Raut, Group Manager- Institute of Directors, said, "Wipro 01markets has been maintaining the momentum of innovation, consistently."
The Golden Peacock Innovation Management Award named after India's national bird the "Peacock" is awarded every year. The Award is given separately for manufacturing and service organisations under the catagories of - Large Enterprises (501 and above employees), Medium Enterprises (101 500 employees) and Small Enterprises (upto 100 employees). The applications are examined by a team of trained assercors to ensure a high level of consistency in scoring. The participants are assesed on strenghts and areas of improvement and scored on a 0 to 1000 point scale for Innovation management.
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Canon Introduces World's Fastest Digital Camera For Professional Action Shots
Announces Aggressive Strategy For The Professional Digital Camera Market
Bangalore, January 29th, 2004
Canon India Pvt. Limited, India's No 1. Digital Imaging Company, today announced a new digital camera and shared its strategy for the Professional Digital Camera Market. The EOS-1D Mark II Digital SLR is the world's fastest digital AF-SLR camera.
Targeted at event photographers and professional photo-journalists, the state-of-the-art EOS-1D Mark II achieves 8.2 effective megapixel resolution even at a continuous shooting speed of 8.5 frames per second. The new CMOS sensor with high-speed 8-channel reading technology delivers exceptional image quality with low noise. Seven Color Matrix settings are provided for JPEG and RAW images, allowing easy adjustment of color space, color saturation and color tone. Versatility, operational ease and all aspects of camera design have been meticulously refined to give professionals a genuine edge at decisive moments.
The perfect solution for quick reaction shooting, the EOS-1D Mark II will be distributed through specially appointed strategic partners focused on the professional digital camera market. In addition to the exhaustive Canon network of 106 retail stores, service centers will be established throughout the country for this product.
Speaking at the announcement, Mr. Alok Bharadwaj, Director and GM, Consumer Imaging & Information Division (CIID) and Volume products, Canon India Pvt. Ltd. said, " This extraordinary feature is more than evolution, it's a revolution in digital camera performance. Canon is a world wide market leader in the professional digital camera market segment and aims to replicate this success in India. As the Indian market witnesses a paradigm shift of camera technology from analog to digital and the market size records growth rates of over 100% per annum, Canon is all geared up to further drive growth in the digital camera segment."
One of Canon's strategy is clearly focused on educating the professional photographers through seminars and workshops organized to enable him to get a first hand experience of the product and make an informed decision. With this, Canon India once again lives up to it's commitment of providing the professionals the latest technology with an extended choice and a positive customer experience. This state-of-the-art EOS-1D Mark II, developed as Canon's pro-class digital SLR, offers more pixels and a faster response than its predecessor - the EOS-1D.
Mr Bharadwaj further added, "Currently the total size of the digital camera market is Rs.120 core. We aim to capture a leading position in this segment similar to the success Canon enjoy's across the world and a substantial part of this is expected to be in the professional digital camera segment."
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APC introduces new 800VA High Performance UPS for Business Computers
Longer back up time feature to help small offices continue business uninterrupted during power cuts
Bangalore January 28 2004
American Power Conversion (APC) today announced an expansion of its award-winning Back-UPS® family of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) with the introduction of Back-UPS® RS 800 IN for business computers.
The new Back-UPS RS 800 IN with USB or serial connectivity offers advanced Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) protection with up to 45 minutes of battery backup time for a single PC in the event of a power failure.Frequent voltage fluctuations and unexpected power cuts can cause problems like burnt motherboards, keyboard lockups, corrupted data, lost Internet connections and system crashes resulting in expensive hardware damage and data loss.
APC Back-UPS RS 800IN with its wide voltage window (175 to 295VAC) and built in AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) feature protects business computers from harsh and damaging voltage fluctuations and also provides a reliable method of preventing downtime.
As per IDC, there are about 1.7 million organisations that fall under the small office segment ( 1 to 9 PCs) .These account for about 3400 crores of annual turnover. Most of the day to day transactions of this segment would be driven by the PC. Power cuts, damage due to voltage fluctuations would lead to unwanted revenue loss. Hence it is extremely important that the business PC is protected by a reliable UPS .The new Back UPS 800 IN is targeted at Business PC users like restaurants, consultants, retailers, finance firms, freelancers, clinics and other small offices who would not like to see their business productivity affected by power cuts.
Back-UPS RS 800VA is an affordable high performance UPS providing up to 45 minutes of battery backup time. It has a wide voltage window of 175 to 295VAC to ensure protection against harsh and damaging voltage fluctuations. The AVR Boost and AVR Trim feature corrects low and high voltage conditions, thereby enabling uninterrupted work without unnecessary battery drain. Back-UPS RS 800IN also features an Internet/DSL/FAX/Modem/Network line surge protection and 5 outlets (4 IEC 320-C13 powered outlets and 1 IEC 320-C13 surge only outlets).To support recent trends of increased USB-integrated peripheral adoption, Back-UPS RS 800 IN is able to communicate with desktop systems using USB communication.
In addition, Back-UPS RS 800 IN comes with free file-saving auto-shutdown software for Windows XP/2000/ME/98 and Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 . PowerChute® Plus Personal Edition, an easy-to-use software with sophisticated power management features, allows orderly system shutdown in the event of an extended power failure. It automatically saves open files, closes open applications, and gracefully shuts down the operating system thus protecting hard disk and data.
"The average duration of a power cut in India is about an hour a day. Bearing this in mind we are introducing the RS800 IN to provide 45 minutes of back up time to the user. This will be sufficient to ensure uninterrupted work during situations of power cuts. This product is ideal for users who desire longer back up time for a single PC. Typically the audience would comprise of retail outlets, architects, freelancers, small and medium businesses " Said Mr Subodh Tagare, Marketing Manager , APC India.
"In addition, the wide voltage window feature (175 to 295 VAC) also ensures that the PC is completely protected from frequent voltage fluctuations , a situation prevalent in most parts of the country" he added.
The Back UPS RS 800 IN will be available to the end customer at Rs 6000 plus taxes. As with other APC products, it comes with a 2 year comprehensive warranty (covering UPS and battery) and the reliable service support network of 110 service centers .
APC recently won the 'Best UPS' award for the 7th consecutive year at the PC Quest Users Choice Awards 2003 in addition to the 'Best Power Conditioning' award for the Enterprise segment.
For more information about APC, and other innovative, desktop solutions please visit APC's website at www.apc.com/in
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Network Appliance announces George Thomas as Country Manager for India
Bangalore, January 22, 2004
Network Appliance, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise storage solutions, today announced the appointment of George Thomas as Country Manager for India. George Thomas is a veteran in the Indian storage industry. In his capacity as Country Manager, he will primarily oversee Sales and Marketing Management, Enterprise Account Coverage and Channel Development for NetApp in India.
George was responsible for starting NetApp India operations in the year 2000 and played a key role in establishing NetApp as one of the top three storage vendors in India. Today, NetApp holds an 11.6% market share according to IDC. He has held various senior positions at NetApp in the last four years. Prior to joining NetApp, George served as Country Manager of Apara Enterprise Solutions, a leading IT infrastructure company in India.
George brings with him over 12 years of experience in the IT industry and holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Calicut University.
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Cadence supports 64-BIT Intel® Itanium® 2-based platforms running Linux
Cadence Continues to Provide Higher Performance to Designers of the Most Complex Chips
Bangalore, Calif. Jan. 20, 2004
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE/NSDQ: CDN) today announced it has released key products of the Cadence Encounter digital IC design platform on Intel® Itanium® 2-based systems running the 64-bit Linux operating system. Cadence has ported its new generation technology products to Intel Itanium 2-based Linux platforms to offer customers the increased capacity and higher performance critical for designing the largest and most complex system-on-chip (SoC) designs in the industry today. This move is part of the company's strategy to provide customers with the widest range of options and operating systems to meet their design needs.
"We are excited to see the release of Cadence products on Intel Itanium 2-based systems offering the 64-bit computing to meet ever increasing design computing capacity and performance needs," said Guru Bhatia, director of IT engineering computing, Intel Corporation. "Coupled with the Cadence suite of semiconductor design and verification tools, the Itanium 2-based platform provides the technical advantage to design complex silicon products for the EDA engineering community."
Cadence new generation technology, combined with Intel Architecture-based hardware running Linux, delivers significantly better price and performance than conventional or proprietary UNIX platforms for Cadence customers. Cadence currently provides 32-bit-enabled products on Linux for its entire product suite, as well as 64-bit products for all major UNIX operating systems. By providing its customers with a completely interoperable design solution -- through hardware, operating system and design software -- Cadence customers receive significant acceleration of chip design time, leading to improvement in time to market.
"Our customers are consistently designing the largest and fastest chips in the industry. Porting to Intel Itanium 2-based systems is a significant benefit for those customers who need the increased capacity and performance that a 64-bit Itanium 2-based Linux platform can provide. The Intel team helped our engineers achieve this port in record time, and we are pleased with these results and with our continued strong relationship with Intel," said Lavi Lev, executive vice president and general manager of the Cadence Implementation Division.
The Cadence Incisive functional verification and Virtuoso® custom design platforms will also have products available on the Linux-based Intel Itanium 2 processor in 2004.
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Cranes Software International Limited along with its German principal dSPACE announces the MATLAB R13SP1 Compatibility Update for dSPACE Release 4.0
The product is available through CSIL's nation-wide product distribution network
Bangalore. January 19, 2004
Cranes Software International Ltd., a global scientific & engineering products and solutions provider and its German principal dSPACE announced the compatibility of dSPACE Release 4.0 with MATLAB.
This compatibility update makes it possible to use dSPACE Release 4.0 in conjunction with products from The MathWorks Release 13 with Service Pack 1 (R13SP1), for example MATLAB 6.5.
"MATLAB Compatibility Updates ensure that a dSPACE Release operates with the new MATLAB version until the availability of the next dSPACE Release. This compatibility Update enables a new dSPACE user to start working with MATLAB R13SP1 and dSPACE Release 4.0, whereas Matlab R13 or R13.0.1 would have to upgrade to Matlab R13SP1", said Mr. Rajashekhar Rao, Product Manager, (Embedded Systems & Controls Group) Cranes Software International Limited.
dSPACE products form a seamlessly integrated tool chain in compatible with Matlab. This compatibility makes dSPACE a highly integrated scientific development environment that can be used for any of the control applications viz., Hardware-in-Loop Simulation, Rapid Control Prototyping, Auto Code Generation etc resulting in reduction of development time and ensures ease of operability.
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Geometric's Net Profit Up 15%, Revenues Up 11% Sequentially
Mumbai, 15th January, 2004
Geometric Software Solutions Co. Ltd's (BSE - 532312, NSE - GEOMETRIC) consolidated revenue for the quarter ended 31st December 2003 increased to Rs. 295.83 million, as compared to Rs. 228.65 million for the corresponding quarter last year, representing an increase of 29% YOY. On a sequential, consolidated revenues grew by 11%, Rs. 295.83 million for the quarter ended 31st December 2003 as compared to Rs. 267.24 million for the preceding quarter.
Consolidated net profit for the quarter ended 31st December 2003 increased to Rs 60.91 million, as compared to Rs. 46.61 million for the corresponding quarter last year, representing an increase of 31%. The net profit for the current quarter represents a rise of 15% sequentially viz., Rs. 60.91 million as compared to Rs.53.07 million over the immediate preceding quarter ended 30th September 2003.
Commenting on the results, Mr. Manu Parpia, Managing Director, Geometric said, "The business environment is showing signs of sustaining the improvement seen in the previous quarter. The steady progress in our go-to-market approach reflects our committment to offer end-to-end PLM solutions coupled with the approach of not competing with our partners. While we will continue to add new customers, our emphasis will be on gaining additional business from existing relationships and software OEMs."
Geometric has announced it will meet and exceed its guidance for FY 2003-04 for both top and bottom line.
Among the highlights of the quarter was:
- Launch of Products Business Unit based on Geometric's own IP in the form of PLM technologies and products
- Web launch of the first end user product -"eDrawings for Pro/ENGINEERTM". For the first time in its history, the company is also setting up a reseller channel network
- Successful delivery of a PLM integration solution for an enterprise customer developed by Geometric's R&D
- Bangalore center opened for Engineering Services Business Unit (ESBU) with capacity to house 54 engineers
- Executed projects for an European auto major, North American and Japanese customers and an aerospace major.
Highlights of the Results (Consolidated):
- Comparison with Q3 of FY' 03
- Operating revenues (Sales) grew by 24%, to Rs. 272.94 million for the current quarter as compared to Rs. 219.47 million over the same quarter last year.
- Operating Profit (PBT (after depreciation) but excluding other income) increased by 13%, Rs.54.89 million for the quarter ended 31st December 2003 as compared to Rs 48.59 million for corresponding quarter last year.
- Sequential Comparison with Preceding Quarter (Q2 of FY'04)
- Operating revenues (Sales) grew by 9%, Rs. 272.94 million for the current quarter compared to Rs. 250.79 million for the preceding quarter.
- Operating Profit (PBT (after depreciation) but excluding other Income) increased by 9%, Rs.54.89 million for the quarter ended 31st December 2003 as compared to Rs.50.26 million for the preceding quarter.
- Onsite revenues increased by 26%. Product revenues improved by about 34% over the last quarter reflecting the increased focus on products.
- Engineering services group witnessed a further ramp up in operations and showed improvement in revenues.
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eInfochips selects Cadence incisive verification platform
Cadence Establishes Global Customer Connection with eInfochips in the Design Chain
Bangalore, India Jan.13, 2004
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN) today announced that eInfochips has adopted the Cadence® Incisive verification platform to meet its advanced design and verification requirements. As a leading developer of reusable verification components and intellectual property (IP), eInfochips required a solution for system-level and register transfer-level (RTL) verification. The company will use the Cadence Incisive platform in its ASIC design division. Through its work with eInfochips, Cadence continues to connect globally with customers in the design chain.
"As a technology company dealing with SystemC designs, it is paramount that we have a design environment where we can simulate SystemC blocks with RTL. It is imperative that simulation performance and the detailed code coverage capability are excellent," said Samir Shroff, director of the ASIC design division at eInfochips. "After a thorough examination of all of the products available on the market, we determined that the Cadence Incisive platform would meet all of our technical needs. The successful deployment of Incisive in our IP Cores development effort led us to adopt Incisive in our ASIC design services division, as well."
"The Incisive verification platform is the industry-leading solution for mixed language simulation. The Incisive platform builds on our long history of technical innovation success, offering the ultimate simulation speed and efficiency, reducing testbench development and debug time and increasing RTL performance," said Himanshu Singh, executive director, India and SAARC, Cadence Design Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd. "We are honored that a technology company like eInfochips has chosen Cadence as a provider. We are committed, on a global basis, to providing customers like eInfochips with the most comprehensive platforms on the market to address their advanced verification and SystemC design needs."
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Digital Q3FY2004 Revenues up 46%, Net Profit up 32%
Added 449 people, DCC business continues to show growth and performance is in line with the company's business plan
Palo Alto, USA : Monday, January 12, 2004
Key financial highlights
- Q-to-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q3FY2003) corresponding quarter performance:
- Revenues increase by 46% to Rs. 1653 million
- PAT advances 32% to Rs 356 million, EPS (diluted) for Q3FY2004 at Rs 10.51
- Q-on-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q2FY2004) sequential quarter performance:
- Revenues up 10%
- PAT up 11%
- Y to D (9MFY2004 v/s. 9MFY2003) performance is progressive:
- Revenues progress by 47% to Rs 4437 million
- PAT increases 29% to Rs 976 million, EPS (diluted) for 9MFY2004 at Rs 29.16
Segment-wise revenue analysis
- Services business:
- Q-on-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q2FY2004) sequential quarter performance higher by 8% at Rs. 1386 million, PBT increases by 2% at Rs. 356 million
- Digital Contact Centre (DCC) business:
- Q-on-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q2FY2004) sequential quarter performance advances by 40% at Rs. 223 million
- HP business:
- Q-to-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q3FY2003) corresponding quarter revenues expand 55% to cross Rs 1219 million from Rs 786 million
- Q-on-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q2FY2004) sequential quarter revenues were higher by 9% as compared to Rs.1120 million
- Y to D (9MFY2004 v/s. 9MFY2003) revenues up by 55% to Rs 3379 million compared with Rs 2186 million
- Independent business:
- Q-to-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q3FY2003) corresponding quarter revenues higher by 33% to Rs. 324 million from Rs 244 million
- Q-on-Q (Q3FY2004 v/s. Q2FY2004) sequential quarter revenues increased by 15% as compared to Rs 282 million
- Y to D (9MFY2004 v/s. 9MFY2003) revenues higher by 13% to Rs 671 million as compared to Rs 591 million
Operating perspectives
- Added 449 people during the quarter, taking total strength to 4889 people
- Recruitment levels at DCC continued to be high and added 238 people during the quarter taking the total size of DCC operation to 2135 people
- All business units continued with their initiatives on plan, achieving progress to engage more HP and non-HP business
- Construction and implementation of Phase III at Digital Park remains on schedule. An employee center and two of the 'Fire' software blocks will be ready for occupation by end of current financial year adding 850 more seats at the campus facility
Commenting on Q3FY2004, in a joint statement, Mr. Peter Mercury, Chairman, Digital GlobalSoft, and Som Mittal, President and CEO, Digital GlobalSoft, said:
"We are pleased to report a good performance for the quarter under review. The IT Services sector continues to provide new opportunities and pose fresh challenges on an ongoing basis. It is our endeavor to capitalize on these opportunities and given our operating strength and parentage, we are confident of facing challenges to achieve further progress in the future."
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Infosys increases guidance for revenue and EPS for fiscal 2004
Bangalore, India – January 9, 2004
Highlights
Results for the quarter ended December 31, 2003
- Income from software development services and products was Rs. 1,235.26 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2003, an increase of 28.86% over comparable income for the corresponding quarter in the previous year
- Net profit after tax for the third quarter ended December 31, 2003 was Rs. 328.14 crore, an increase of 28.02% over comparable net profit after tax for the corresponding quarter in the previous year
- Earnings per share from ordinary activities increased to Rs. 49.43 from Rs. 38.70 for the corresponding quarter in the previous year, an increase of 27.73%
- 30 new clients were added during the quarter
- Gross addition of 3,666 employees for the quarter for Infosys and its subsidiary, Progeon Ltd.
- 23,209 employees as on December 31, 2003 for Infosys and its subsidiary, Progeon Ltd.
Business outlook
"We have reorganized Infosys to face new challenges – increased expectations from clients, a fast-changing economy and a new competitive scenario," said Nandan M. Nilekani, CEO, President and Managing Director. "We have enhanced our focus on vertical markets and on providing business solutions leveraging technology, using our Global Delivery Model."
The company's outlook for the quarter and the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, under Indian GAAP and US GAAP, is as follows:
Under Indian GAAP
Outlook for the quarter ending March 31, 2004*
Infosys non-consolidated
- Income from software development services and products is projected to be between Rs. 1,260 crore and Rs. 1,269 crore
- Earnings per share is expected to be Rs. 49.50
Infosys consolidated
- Income is projected to be between Rs. 1,319 crore and Rs. 1,331 crore
- Earnings per share is expected to be Rs. 49.70
Outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004*
Infosys non-consolidated
- Income from software development services and products is projected to be between Rs. 4,712 crore and Rs. 4,721 crore
- Earnings per share is expected to be Rs. 186.20
Infosys consolidated
- Income is projected to be between Rs. 4,823 crore and Rs. 4,835 crore
- Earnings per share is expected to be Rs. 186.70
* conversion 1 US$ = Rs. 45.50
Under US GAAP
Outlook for the quarter ending March 31, 2004
- Consolidated net revenues projected to be in the range of $ 290 million to $ 293 million
- Consolidated earnings per American Depositary Share expected to be $ 0.55
Outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004
- Consolidated net revenues projected to be in the range of $ 1,050 million to $ 1,053 million
- Consolidated earnings per American Depositary Share expected to be $ 2.02
"The acquisition of Expert Information Systems Pty. Limited, Australia is complete and we are working towards a seamless integration," said S. Gopalakrishnan, Member of the Board and COO. "This will accelerate our market penetration in Australia and provide enhanced value to our clients."
Expansion of services and significant projects
During the quarter, Infosys continued its association with global corporations, helping them realize significant business benefits through effective leveraging of technology. The company added 30 new clients and strengthened its relationship with over 350 clients worldwide, through the implementation of new initiatives.
In the telecom sector, Infosys saw the addition of leading corporations to its client list. A premier wireless carrier in the US chose Infosys to design, develop and deploy a financial and marketing data mart that will help the organization analyze its financial performance. One of Canada's leading communications companies, providing wireline and wireless telecommunications products, applications and services, also started working with the company during the quarter. Infosys was selected by a growing telecom business process outsourcing provider in the US to partner in the development of its order and inventory management systems. Another key client added is a leading provider of highly integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband communications and networking of voice, video and data services. In the Asia Pacific region, a premier telecommunications carrier chose Infosys to help them increase the effectiveness of their integrated telecommunications services.
High-tech companies are finding new ways of improving knowledge and expertise in cutting edge technology. An industry leader providing global data and IP network and integration services for multinational businesses has engaged Infosys in the design, development and support of its global CRM applications. The world's leading supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries also established a partnership with Infosys during the last quarter. Other significant client additions in this sector include a world leader in integrated IT and eProcessing solutions for the financial services industry and a corporation providing global automated international trade management solutions.
Infosys made significant progress in the media and entertainment industry during the quarter, with the addition of three global leaders. One of the world's premier media and entertainment companies chose Infosys to help them with some of their technology initiatives. Infosys has been signed up to assist a global provider of news, data and analysis in providing accurate and real-time information.
Corporations in the automobile and aerospace industry are increasingly leveraging technology to improve their efficiency. Infosys partnered with a leader in lumbar and seating comfort technology to create an IT strategy that will help streamline its manufacturing processes. The company manufactures seating components for some of the world's best known automotive and airline companies. During the quarter, Infosys also established a relationship with a leading supplier of injection molding equipment in Canada.
The retail industry continues to use technology to provide faster and more efficient services to its growing customer base. Infosys reinforced its position in this segment in the US by adding to its client base a renowned supplier of specialty outdoor gear and a nationwide chain of superstores in the US, selling domestic merchandise and home furnishings.
Infosys enhanced its presence in the financial services sector by establishing a relationship with a global investment bank based in the UK. The bank chose Infosys to strengthen critical elements of its infrastructure across several locations in the world. Infosys will leverage its expertise in Microsoft technologies to meet the client's need for a quick, scalable, and cost-efficient deployment. In the healthcare sector, Infosys started working with a non-profit, independent, regional healthcare provider in the US.
"We have added several high-quality clients in the high-tech and financial services sectors, in addition to leading communication service providers," said Basab Pradhan, Head – World-wide Sales and Senior Vice President. "We see this as a result of the market's continuing interest in offshore services, and also, some of our successful business solutions and alliances."
"Our initiatives on increasing work offshore continue to yield results. Offshore effort increased to 67.8% during the quarter as compared to 63.9% for the same quarter in the previous year," said S. D. Shibulal, Member of the Board and Head – World-wide Customer Delivery. "Our billing for two clients, on an LTM (Last Twelve Months) basis, has crossed $ 50 million each."
Banking Products
Infosys' Banking Business Unit (BBU) made significant headway in several countries this quarter. One of the premier public sector banks headquartered in Bangalore, India, with over 800 branches, has chosen to deploy Finacle®. A leading bank headquartered in Mauritius has signed up for Finacle®, making it the fifth among nine banks in the island nation to use the product. With the addition of a bank in Zimbabwe to its client list, Infosys extended its footprint to seven countries in Africa. BBU also established its presence in China this quarter, with one of the leading banks choosing Finacle® for its branches.
Progeon Limited
Progeon Limited ("Progeon") added one client during the quarter and generated revenues of Rs. 21.78 crore. The net addition to employees during the quarter was 362 and the employee strength as on December 31, 2003 was 1,400.
The consolidated financial results including the financial results of Progeon Limited, according to Indian GAAP, for the quarter ended December 31, 2003 are attached to this release.
Update on China operations
Infosys has incorporated its wholly owned subsidiary in the People's Republic of China, 'Infosys Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Limited'. The subsidiary will be capitalized at US$ 5 million and Infosys has transferred US$ 1 million as initial capital. The setting up of the software development center for 200 professionals in Shanghai is progressing well. The China subsidiary will be offering end-to-end software services to domestic as well as multinational companies operating in China. It will also serve as a hub for software services in the Asia Pacific region.
Update on acquisition of Expert
The acquisition of Expert Information Services Pty. Limited, Australia (Expert) was completed on January 2, 2004. The acquired company has been renamed as 'Infosys Technologies (Australia) Pty. Limited' and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infosys.
Liquidity and capital expenditure
Cash and cash equivalents including investments in liquid mutual funds increased by Rs. 344.25 crore during the quarter, from Rs. 2,139.67 crore to Rs. 2,483.92 crore, after incurring capital expenditure of Rs. 85.19 crore. Operating cash flows for the quarter ended December 31, 2003 were Rs. 496.58 crore (Rs. 248.38 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2002).
"Pricing has been stable and despite the largest hiring for a quarter, margins have been maintained," said T. V. Mohandas Pai, Member of the Board and Chief Financial Officer.
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Cranes Software International Ltd. announces its decision to acquire Sigma product line from SPSS Inc. for a total sum of US $ 13 million
Sigma range comes with an extensive user base, global sales and marketing network, and strong revenue streams and profitability
Bangalore, January 8, 2004
Cranes Software International Ltd. (CSIL), a global scientific and engineering software solutions provider, has announced its decision to acquire Sigma product line from SPSS Inc. for a total sum of US $ 13 million. CSIL's fully owned subsidiary Systat Software Inc. has obtained the exclusive worldwide license to distribute the Sigma-series product line (SPL) from SPSS Inc.
In addition to the distribution license, the agreement involves the acquisition of all related customers, personnel, and fixed assets and comes with the option to purchase all related intellectual property, including brand names and trademarks, after three years. The agreement involves an immediate cash payment of US$ 9 million, followed by staggered payments of US$ 3 million in 2004 and US$ 1 million in 2005.
"With the Sigma-series acquisition, Cranes Software is now a significant global player in the scientific software domain," said Asif Khader, Managing Director, Cranes Software International Limited. "The Sigma range blends seamlessly with our global growth strategy in proprietary products. We now have a world-class portfolio that offers scope for significant expansion given the extensive base of existing users, the worldwide sales and marketing network, backed by our in-house offshore R&D capabilities. We are continuing the original vision of SPSS in combining the power of the Sigma-series and SYSTAT offerings and these two product lines will be at the foundation of our commitment to provide high-quality, cutting-edge software to scientific researchers around the world."
Product details
Sigma-series products are used by scientists and engineers for data presentation and analysis, including the flagship SigmaPlot® offering, SigmaStat® statistical analysis package, and SigmaScan® image analysis software. In addition, Systat will acquire Kinetics Enzyme, a related life sciences module. These offerings are highly complimentary to CSIL's current portfolio in terms of cross-selling potential within existing users and addressable markets. CSIL's current portfolio of scientific and engineering software products includes such leading products as SYSTAT, TableCurve2D, TableCurve3D and PeakFit.
The Sigma product line is designed specifically to meet the requirements of research scientists and engineers, enabling collection, analysis and presentation of scientific data. The product market includes research professionals in a range of fields including life sciences, environmental sciences, medical research chemistry and engineering.
Recognition
The Sigma product suite has won several awards including nine consecutive Scientific Computing and Instrumentation Reader's Choice Awards for presentation graphics software, NASA Tech Briefs Product of the Month and Computers in Physics Product of the Month, signifying its continuing popularity amongst its focused user segments.
Significant base, expansion potential
The Sigma-series has an established base of over 100,000 users with significant brand awareness in the pharmaceutical / biotechnology marketplace. The desktop product has sold over 4,000 copies to Merck and over 1,000 each to Eli Lilly and Pfizer. NASA currently uses 2,000 copies of the product line. The product has however been peripheral to SPSS' current business growth strategies. The CSIL management believes that there is significant potential to expand Sigma product revenues from the current level of US$ 6.5 million. Previously, CSIL has successfully expanded revenues of its Systat Software products from US$ 2 million to US$ 10 million following its acquisition in early 2003.
Currently, the Sigma product line has an operating margin of 45% and strong positive net cash flows. Minimal current overheads and capital expenditure is required to maintain operations at the current levels. In addition, there are no associated long-term liabilities.
The product line is well established and widely recognised among user segments resulting in 30-40% repeat sales.
Potential markets
According to estimates, the U.S. market, currently the primary focus area for the Sigma product suite, comprises over 1.5 million engineers, about 200,000 each of science technicians and mathematicians and about 19,000 physicists, all of which are potential users for this product range. In addition, the international markets provide an under-penetrated source of new customers.
Sales and marketing network
The Sigma product line's existing sales organisation has a proven track record within the scientific data software market. U.S. sales are currently handled out of SPSS' office in Chicago while the product line is distributed internationally through SPL's office in Germany that will come to CSIL once the entire acquisition process is completed. At present, 73% of SPL sales are in the U.S. and 22% in Europe.
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NetScreen Leads in Security Appliance Market Share Growth According to Market Research Report
Report Also Ranks NetScreen as Market Leader for Products Priced Under $1,000
Bangalore, January 5, 2004
NetScreen Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NSCN) today announced that an IDC report, entitled "Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Server Tracker"(superscript: ), reveals that NetScreen was the only security appliance vendor among the top 5 to grow worldwide factory revenue market share year-over-year. NetScreen's 91 percent year-on-year increase in factory revenue resulted in a market share gain of more than five percentage points between Q3 2002 and Q3 2003.
Additionally, the report indicates that NetScreen took the lead position in the security appliance market for products priced under $1,000 by gaining 2.1 percentage points in factory revenue market share between Q2 2003 and Q3 2003, while the prior quarter's leader lost 4.8 percentage points. According to the report, NetScreen also maintained its worldwide factory revenue security appliance market share leadership positions in the $50,000 to $99,999 and over $100,000 price-banded product segments for the third quarter of 2003.
IDC's categorization of the security appliance market includes firewall, virtual private network (VPN), intrusion detection and other security categories. NetScreen attributes its gains in the under $1,000 segment to the great value offered by its purpose-built appliances for broad security protection in enterprise remote and telecommuter environments, the NetScreen-5GT, -5XT and -5XP, that integrate firewall, IPSec VPN, traffic management, denial of service protection.
"NetScreen's success in the market demonstrates enterprise customers' recognition of the value of NetScreen's easy-to-use, purpose-built appliances that offer advanced security functionality as well as operational and cost advantages for highly distributed environments," said David Flynn, vice president of marketing at NetScreen. "These results underscore that our products are meeting real customer needs from the core of their networks to the perimeter and remote sites."
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Cranes Software's shareholders approve GDR issue
Board approves fully owned subsidiary in Germany
Bangalore, January 5, 2004
Cranes Software International Ltd. (CSIL), a global scientific and engineering software solutions provider, has announced that at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), shareholders approved the following:
Increasing the Company's authorized share capital from Rs. 110 million (equity capital of Rs. 90 million and preference capital of Rs. 20 million) to Rs. 140 million (equity capital of Rs. 120 million and preference capital of Rs. 20 million)
Issuance of 1.8 million fully paid equity shares in the form of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) of the Company, Following the proposed GDR issue, CSIL's paid-up equity capital will increase from 8,422,440 shares to 10,222,440 shares of Rs. 10 each. CSIL's Board of Directors had granted their approval on the above resolutions on December 8, 2003.
Board approvals received today
Further, CSIL's Board of Directors, at their meeting held earlier today, approved the incorporation of a fully owned subsidiary or acquisition of a company in Germany at an investment not exceeding US$ one million. This will be CSIL's second direct presence in Europe and CSIL will focus on demand for its products from within the continent. CSIL's present office in London is focused on the U.K. market. The Company also has offices in Richmond, California in the U.S., and the recently added office in Singapore, apart from its multi-location presence in India.
Capital expenditure requirements
The proposed issue of GDR's will contribute to the funding requirements of CSIL's planned business expansions that include:
- Exploiting emerging growth opportunities through focused acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances in India and internationally;
- Acquisition of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and entering global marketing alliances for leading technical software products;
- Augmenting working capital requirements of the rapidly expanding global business operations
In this respect, the Company has already announced its intention to invest up to Rs. 10 million in Esqube Communication Solutions Private Limited (ESQUBE) and to enter a worldwide marketing and distribution agreement for the Sigma Plot Line (SPL) range of products with SPSS Inc., U.S.A. with the option to purchase these products after 2.5 years.
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