The past year generated mixed emotions at Patni. There was euphoria at the 33% revenue growth, matching or beating the Top 5. There was worry about declining profit (from 39% to 16% operating profit), squeezed by attrition and rising salaries. And a recent IRS (income tax) review of its US operations has landed a tax charge of $33 mn for earlier years, and there could be more ahead.

However, business was good. Patni added 74 new clients, including Disney Mobile and ABN Amro, taking the number of active customers to 199. There were 11 new $5-mn-plus accounts, taking the total to 19, where revenues from the top 10 grew 59%, but the other nine grew 80%.

Million-dollar relationships increased from 46 to 61. Non-ADM (application development) services grew at over double the lower-margin ADM growth of 25%. And the dependence on GE, long an Achilles' heel, came down from 26% to 22%.

Patni did not make any acquisitions last fiscal. But it set up several strategic alliances to complement expertise. It joined hands with high-end SPs including Savvion for BPM, InsureWorks for insurance, and Clear Technology for financial services and healthcare. Later, in 2006, it acquired ZaiQ Technologies, for design engineering services.

A strong focus on the BFSI, manufacturing, telecom and product engineering verticals paid off, and it also stepped up growth from Europe and Asia, though most of its business is still US-based. To add to its near-zero domestic business, a strategic alliance with SAP India will address the SMB segment: Patni will provide mySAP ERP solutions, with special focus on the rubber and tyre industry.

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