India’s largest IT training company NIIT Limited on Friday reported a 40% rise in its quarterly net profit to Rs 24.7 crore, from last year, on the back of increased enrollments and return of growth in the job market.

“Hiring is back in full swing in IT, financial services and BPO sectors. We expect large growth from the education sector with the government passing the Right to Education Act, this year,” NIIT Limited’s CEO Vijay K Thadani told ET.

The jump in this quarter’s profit was due to a lower base last quarter. The company always incurs a lower growth in the December quarter, due to the seasonal nature of its business, dependent on academic sessions.

The company’s quarterly revenues grew by just 2% to Rs 475.6 crore, due to a market meltdown last year. Its yearly net profit grew just 1% on the back of a 6% rise in annual revenues. NIIT Limited’s stock declined 3.7% to Rs 67.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. (more…)

HCL Technologies on Monday announced a change in the leadership of its BPO arm, which has seen steady drop in profitability and revenues. India’s fifth-largest software firm announced the appointment of former chief executive & MD of TCS e-Serve Rahul Singh as president for business services.

HCL’s BPO business was headed by Ranjit Narasimhan over the past few years. He moved out to head new strategic initiatives about three months ago and the BPO business was being led by Rajiv Swarup, a senior HCL executive, in the interim.

Rahul Singh will be responsible for driving growth in the company’s BPO and business services division globally, HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar said. “We welcome him to HCL as we reshape and transform the way BPO and business services are being offered to our customers, tightly integrated with IT services,” he said.

A large part of BPO and business service operations was devoted exclusively to British Telecom, mainly providing voice-based services. However, that will change as an effort to revive the fortunes. “We are now focussing on non-voice services and will restructure the business. A new plan for the business will be announced by July,” HCL Technologies CFO Anil Chanana said when the parent declared its quarterly results. (more…)

Aegis, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company under the Essar Group umbrella, commenced its operations in Kashmir recently. Post-militancy, this is the first time that a venture of such magnitude has been undertaken in the Valley.

Set up at the Rangrate IT Park near Srinagar, the BPO centre boasts of the latest technology and offers world-class facilities in line with other Aegis centres across the globe, company president Sudhir Agarwal told PTI.

He said that the company has recruited 200 employees from the Valley to fulfill its commitment of providing employment to the local youth.

Agarwal said that Aegis Srinagar has already tied up with Vodafone. “The Srinagar office will serve domestic clients, including telecom service providers and financial institutions,” said the Aegis president, who provides strategic advice and guidance to teams across centres in India, Philippines, South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka. (more…)

Realty major Ashar Group’s IT park here has bagged bookings from eight BPO firms, including leading player Intelenet, and plans to set up a four-star hotel in the vicinity to cater to business visitors.

“We have already got bookings from eight BPO firms, including Intelenet. This IT Park has the potential to generate around 12,000 jobs,” Ashar Group’s chairman and MD Mr Ajay Ashar told reporters here. This is one of the largest IT parks in Maharashtra and has been set up at an investment of over Rs 250 crore. The eight IT/ITeS companies in the park would soon be opening their offices here, he said.

“With a built-up area of one million sq ft and valuation of Rs 600 crore, this IT Park is poised to generate employment for about 12,000 people in and around Thane,” Mr Ashar said.

On the four-star hotel planned to be set-up, Mr Ashar said that it would be a 120 key hotel catering to the short stay requirements of IT professionals and expatriates. The IT Park has all the amenities required for any IT company and besides also has recreational facilities including a night club, he said. Located in Thane’s Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation zone, the Ashar IT Park is tailored to meet the business needs of several IT/ITeS companies, Mr Ashar added. Source

IT and BPO services provider Tech Mahindra plans to set up BPO centres overseas during this year, with North America amongst the likely locations for the launch.

“We can’t base our business model purely on cost arbitrage,” Mr Vineet Nayyar, Vice-Chairman, said, adding that the company had acquired a lot of technological and managerial know-how. “It is superior, and there is no reason why we cannot set up in Phoenix and not do better than the locals,” he said. There would be hiccups and the issue needed to be looked at maturely and not parochially, he said.

Earlier, Tech Mahindra reported that the fourth-quarter revenue stood at Rs 1,183 crore, a growth of 12.6 per cent YoY, while net profit was Rs 227 crore, a dip of 1.3 per cent YoY. In dollar terms, profit after tax at 50 million was 33 per cent higher against that in the corresponding quarter of last year. “We have had a strong quarter in spite of currency headwinds,” Mr Nayyar said. (more…)