IGATE Second Quarter Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Information technology company iGATE Corp. (IGTE) reported Wednesday a profit for the second quarter that soared from last year, reflecting improved margins and revenue growth. Both adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations.

"I am pleased with our performance in the second quarter with revenue growing 3% sequentially. We booked orders worth over $600 million including three significant multi-year contracts each valued at $100 million or greater. I am happy to see that the Business Outcomes proposition is resonating well with our customers and markets," CEO Gerhard Watzinger said in a statement.

iGATE added eleven new customers during the quarter, including two Fortune 1000 companies. The company also signed three large multi-year deals each valued at $100 million or more during the quarter. The company ended the second quarter with over 28,300 employees.

The Fremont, California-based company reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $22.10 million or $0.28 per share for the second quarter, sharply higher than $5.38 million or $0.07 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $34.51 million or $0.44 per share, compared to $21.46 million or $0.28 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.34 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter grew 6 percent to $283.27 million from $267.99 million in the same quarter last year, and topped eight Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $279.21 million by a whisker.

Gross margin for the quarter expanded 50 basis points to 37.9 percent from last year's 37.4 percent.

Sujit Sircar noted, "I am happy with the margin growth seen in the quarter as we absorbed our annual wage hikes which were offset largely by operational efficiencies and to an extent the depreciation of the Indian Rupee."

"We are seeing more positive signs related to offshore IT services spending and stability in the overall business environment, with clients spending to their budgets," Watzinger added.

In Wednesday's regular trading session, IGTE is currently trading at $18.76, up $1.01 or 5.68% on a volume of 0.21 million shares.