Persistent Systems hits record high; soars 16% in 2 days on strong Q1 show

Shares of Persistent Systems  hit a new high of Rs 3,294.95, up 8 per cent on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Monday, having surged 16 per cent in the past two trading days, after the company reported a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended June 2021 (Q1FY22). Besides, in the past three months, the stock of information technology (IT) consulting & software company has zoomed 70 per cent, as compared to a 9 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

In Q1FY22, the company's revenue grew 9.2 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) and 27.3 per cent on year on year (YoY) to $ 166.8 million, driven by continued traction in the Services business. The company offers cloud, data, product & design led services to BFSI, healthcare & hi-tech verticals.

The company’s profit after tax increased 9.8 per cent QoQ at Rs 151 crore. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin declined 50 basis points (bps) QoQ at 16.4 per cent.

The company won several large digital, engineering, and enterprise modernization deals during this quarter, and also acquired Sureline Systems, to bolster its cloud capabilities.

"The order booking for Q1FY22 was at $244.8 million in total contract value (TCV) and at $188.83 million in annual contract value (ACV). The company expects to sustain the healthy growth momentum in the Services business, based on the robust deal intake and a healthy deal pipeline," the management said in a statement.

"Salary hike from July is expected to impact margins by 250-275bps QoQ. However, the management expects the net impact to be restricted to around 75-100bps, considering benefits accruing from revenue momentum, lower visa costs, select pocket of pricing strength, flattening pyramid and better utilization," noted analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services.

Continued focus on large deals and an improving win rate should aid the revenue growth trajectory and predictability. The management is confident of sustaining the revenue growth momentum in the coming quarters on the back of broad-based demand, robust deal intake, healthy deal pipeline and new logo additions, the brokerage firm said.