Patni Computer Slips into the Redwith 52-cr Loss

Rise in staff costs, single-digit revenue growth spoil the show for company

Patni Computer Systems, which was acquired by iGate earlier this year, has slipped into the red with a net loss of . 51.5 crore on a consolidated basis for the quarter ended June 2011, on rise in staff costs due to severance pay given to employees and a single-digit growth in revenues over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In the year-ago period, the company had posted a net profit of . 146.7 crore. 

The company said the group's consolidated revenue for the June 2011 quarter was . 874.6 crore, up from . 815 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. 
On a standalone basis, it said net profit was . 82 crore on revenues of . 547 crore. Shares of Patni fell over 3% to . 322 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The results were below expectations, a Mumbai-based equities analyst said. Phaneesh Murthy, CEO & MD, Patni, said: "We expect our results to stabilise in 2012 after all the integration expenses and accounting charges related to the acquisition have evened out." 
Mr Murthy declined to comment further on the results, saying that a clearer picture will emerge when iGate announces its results. The company said it added three Fortune 1000 clients during the quarter. 
In May this year, the Nasdaqlisted iGate completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Patni Computers, and announced a new go-to-market brand called 'iGate Patni'. Murthy said: "With the front-end sales already integrated, our joint go-to-market strategy has been responding well among our customers and markets. Our focus is on building a platform for long-term growth and taking both the companies to the best-in-class earnings growth that iGate has been able to achieve over the past three to five years."