Sify Technologies Posts $150.59 Million Revenues

The company invested substantially during the year on network expansion and data centre space.
Sify Technologies Limited has reported revenues of $150.59 million for the year ended 31 March 2008, 11.0 per cent higher than the previous year. The enterprise and international segments of the business registered strong growth at 27 per cent and 36 per cent respectively, while the consumer segment dropped 20 per cent over the previous year.
Net profit for the year was $0.12 million compared to a net profit of $6.25 million in the previous fiscal year. Net profit for the current year included one-time benefit of $3.1 million on account of a change in the depreciation policy. Net profit for the year was under pressure due to lower margins due the sales mix, as well as a notional loss incurred on account of the strong rupee against dollar.
Exceptional items during the year amounted $3.97 million on account of legal fees. Net profit excluding this amount was $4.09 million. Sify ended the quarter with a cash balance of $22.21 million after capital expenditures of $20.58 million during the year. This will be augmented with the infusion of $57 million dollars, which is currently under process.
On the occasion, Raju Vegesna, board chairman, CEO and MD, Sify Technologies, said, “The turnaround of the enterprise and international segments has resulted in robust growth in these businesses. We expect the results of our restructuring of the consumer businesses to be felt in the current financial year after the second quarter. Preparations are already underway for the re-launch of our chain of retail outlets offering online services with a new brand name, as well as our broadband services.”
“The portal will follow towards the middle of this financial year. During the year, we have expanded our network aggressively and now have one of the largest MPLS data networks in the country. We will also have 200,000 sq. ft of data centre space with the launch of the second data center in Mumbai in the near future, in addition to our three existing data centres. Our planned progress towards a complete turnaround of the company is moving forward with the build out of world-class infrastructure to make us highly competitive both nationally and internationally,” added Vegesna.
Added CVS Suri, chief operating officer, Sify, “The results of our restructuring the enterprise side of the business are clearly evident. We are now ready to re-launch the consumer side of the business during the course of 08/09 with new brands, new formats, new technologies and new alliances. Our aim will be to make the Internet the personal productivity tool for Indians with access both from home and from public spaces. We are confident that with the re-launch and awareness of these services, we will be able to see a turn-around in consumer revenues as well. At the same time, we will monitor and rationalise our offerings, locations and relationships on an ongoing basis to ensure the success of our partners.”
“We have moved to reporting our financials as per IFRS as our businesses are increasingly becoming global. Indian GAAP is also converging with IFRS in future so this is a timely move for us. We have invested substantially during the year on network expansion and data center space. We will continue to invest in both this coming year, as well as in building Sify’s headquarters in Chennai with sophisticated network command centres and additional data centre space. This will entail an investment of about $125 million, including the current expansion. These investments are being made on the back of robust demand for enterprise services across both connectivity and hosting services. We will also invest in re-launching our consumer businesses during the year to set them on a growth trajectory,” stated Vijay Kumar, CFO, Sify.