While the media spotlight and investor interest is focused on big software
services companies, a lot of action goes unnoticed among small and medium sized
companies that focus on a particular niche area. Small and medium sized
companies are enroute to becoming veritable leaders in their respective spaces.
At the same time, valuations of big software services companies
have reached such refined levels that limit the opportunities of retail
investors to make huge returns. The undiscovered companies in the SMB segment
remain potential for much larger gains, despite risks of investing into mid cap
stock.
Four Soft: Stellar Performance
Four Soft was established in 1999 with an objective to build the enterprise
software/IT solutions in supply chain process management using advanced Web
technologies. During the financial year FY 06, the consolidated operating
revenues stood at Rs 947.70 mn for FY 06, compared to Rs 216.40 mn for FY 05.
The gross profit stood at Rs 129.60 mn for FY 06 compared to Rs 59.20 mn for FY
05. The net profit grew from Rs 41.50 mn in FY 05 to Rs 63.10 mn for FY 06. The
earnings per share (EPS) of the company stood at Rs 1.90 for FY 06 compared to
Rs 1.35 for FY 05. The EPS for the current quarter is up at 0.38 paise from 0.05
paise in the quarter ending December 05. The company plans to hire 200-300
professionals by the end of this year. The company's profit for the quarter is
up 641% on y-o-y basis.
Consolidated Financials |
||||
Particulars |
Quarter Ended |
Growth (%) |
Year EndedMar-06 |
|
Dec-06 |
Dec-05 |
|||
Sales |
44.2 |
32.4 |
36 |
90.1 |
Other Income |
7.8 |
1.2 |
-34 |
4.2 |
Net Profit |
1.3 |
17.8 |
641 |
6.0 |
Equity |
17.8 |
17.7 |
- |
17.7 |
EPS (Rs) |
0.38 |
0.05 |
- |
1.8 |
*All figures in Rs crore unless indicated otherwise |
During Q3 ending December 2006, the company, through its
wholly owned subsidiary Four Soft UK, has signed a definitive agreement to
acquire freight and shipping business of FWL Technologies, including business
and assets, employees, and customer contracts. FWL Technologies has operations
in the UK, the US, India, and Singapore. The company has entered into an
agreement to acquire 100% of the Denmark-based Transaxiom Holding A/S, a global
provider of transportation and logistics solutions. With this merger, the
company has consolidated its leadership position within transportation and
logistics industry. The acquisition adds a number of strategic players in
transportation and logistics to current customer base of the company. In
addition, the merger will augment the company's current domain and technology
competence, and expand global presence in Scandinavia, Australia, and Hong Kong
markets. The company also has signed an agreement with a large logistics company
for the 4s iLogistics Software for a value of 120,000 Euros toward license and
maintenance, and has also secured an order for Visilog Product from Panasonic
for a value of Rs 70 Lakh. DHL Global Mail, a business unit of Deutsche Post
World Net, has selected the company's iLogistics product suite as the platform
to manage their day-to-day logistical operations. Foursoft shares trade at Rs
59.
IT People (India): Raising Funds
IT People (India) is an e-recruitment and consulting company providing human
capital solutions focused on the IT and ITeS industry on a global basis. The
company provides placement, contract and projects staffing services, and special
projects like build-operate-transfer. IT People is a global recruitment exchange
portal exclusively catering for the requirement of IT professionals in the field
of IT and ITeS. The company has presence across all major IT hubs in India, and
the Middle East. For the year ended March 31, 2007, IT People's revenues
increased by 58% to Rs 17.51 crore against Rs 11.09 crore achieved last year,
and operating profit increased by 175% to Rs 3.21 crore compared to Rs 1.17
crore achieved last year. Tax profits grew 493% from Rs 0.52 crore to Rs 3.08
crore during the period.
Consolidated Financials
|
||||
Particulars
|
Quarter Ended
|
Growth (%)
|
Year Ended Mar-07
|
|
Mar-06
|
Mar-07
|
|||
Sales
|
6.3
|
5.3
|
17.2
|
17.5
|
Other Income
|
0.01
|
—
|
-
|
0.6
|
Operating Profit
|
1.3
|
1.1
|
17.2
|
3.2
|
Operating Margin (%)
|
20.8
|
20.9
|
NA
|
26.6
|
Net Profit
|
1.5
|
0.7
|
37.9
|
3.1
|
Equity |
10.7 |
10.7 |
NA |
10.7 |
EPS (Rs) |
0
|
0.13
|
NA
|
0.58
|
*All figures in Rs crore unless indicated otherwise |
The company is proposing to make a Follow on Public Offering
(FPO) of equity shares to the tune of Rs 45.25 crore through 100% book building
process, and has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI, and BSE. The
above FPO has been planned to generate additional resources to meet its
expansion needs such as investment in technology infrastructure, product
enhancement, and business expansion. IT People has announced that the company
has tied up with Global Venture Group in Doha to start its active operations,
and provide a full range of staffing services in this fast progressing country.
IT People (Qatar) has already signed service agreements with companies like
Siemens, Qatar Foundation, Toyota, International Islamic Bank, HSBC, and few
others for providing their IT staffing services. The company successfully
completed its BS7799 post-certification 1st surveillance audit on November 09,
2006. It is the only company in its space to have stringent information security
standards of BS7799. The shares of the company trade at Rs 38.