Essar group firm Black Box posts 60% rise in Q2 profit to Rs 51 crore

Essar Group's IT arm Black Box has reported a 60 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 51.14 crore for the July-September quarter, helped by operating leverage.

It had reported a net profit of Rs 31.96 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.

Its revenue for the quarter under review declined 4.89 per cent to Rs 1,497.2 crore from Rs 1,574.3 crore in Q2 FY24.

The company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for the quarter increased 34 per cent to Rs 135 crore, a statement said.

"The company's commitment towards better performance achieved through operating leverage has led to growth in both EBITDA and PAT margins," it added.

Seen sequentially, profit and revenue rose by 37.88 per cent and 5.19 per cent, respectively.

Black Box Whole Time Director Sanjeev Verma said the company's cost optimisation efforts will yield consistent growth in operating performance and enhanced productivity, leading to better margins.

"We have secured funding of Rs 386 crore, which will strengthen our balance sheet and help us make accelerated investments to propel growth across key focus areas," he said.

Black Box caters to five verticals- banking, finance, healthcare, technology and industrial. It has a network of 75 delivery centres, of which 21 are in the US and 14 in India.

Globally, the company has a workforce of over 4,000 people spread across 35 countries.

"As we re-architecture our GTM, we will see further improvement in our operating performance, higher profitability and improved cash flows. At Rs 51 crore of PAT in Q2 FY25, we are already at a run-rate of above Rs 200 crore of PAT and are hopeful to achieve our full-year FY25 profitability target," said Deepak Kumar Bansal, Executive Director and Global Chief Financial Officer, Black Box.

Verma told PTI in September that Black Box expects its share of the India business to grow by 1-2 percentage points in its course to become a USD 2 billion revenue company by 2027-28.

He said the company's larger focus for this year is to change its go-to-market (GTM) strategy.

The Black Box scrip settled at Rs 539.45 apiece on the BSE on Friday, down 0.77 per cent from the previous close.