Sterlite Q2 net profit up 40% at Rs 71 crore

NEW DELHI: Optical fibre maker Sterlite Technologies has recorded about 40% rise in its net profit at Rs 71 crore in the first quarter ended on September 30, 2017.

"Continuing with its high growth levels, Sterlite Tech posted revenues at Rs 779 crore, up 42% YoY; EBITDA at Rs 179 crore, up 63% YoY; and PAT at Rs 71 crore, up 40% YoY,” the company said in a statement.

The company has been steadily increasing its global footprint, taking advantage of the surging global demands with its world-class solutions portfolio. As the company entered new geographies and strengthened its presence in Europe and China, exports grew at 73% YoY, contributing 51% of total revenue.

As data-intensive and low-latency solutions such as Cloud Computing, Augmented Reality and Internet of Things gain ground, optical fibre is becoming increasingly essential for supporting this exponential data growth. Sterlite Tech has been building on its leadership in this segment with order book reaching Rs 3,832 crore.

This quarter, the company made major advances in developing capabilities across technology innovation and capital expansion to deliver on this improved business outlook:
• Capacity expansion to 30 million fibre km was achieved as per plan, with Q2 sales at this rate.
• Further capacity expansion to 50 million fibre km is on track, to be delivered by June 2019.
• A high-speed 5G-ready network solution named FlashFWD was launched, that delivers a complete kit with high fibre counts suitable for 5G backbone in global city environments.
• Several new patents were added, taking the patent count to 162.
• Sterlite Tech won the Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance, 2017.

The company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Sandip Das as Non-Executive and Independent Director to the Board of Sterlite Tech. A founder of private telephony in India and a globally respected telecommunications professional, Sandip brings vast experience in leading transformation through strategic guidance in a highly evolving digital communications space.

Highlights for Q2, FY18
• Net Revenues stood at Rs 779 crore, up 42% Vs Rs 551 crore YoY
• EBITDA at Rs 179 crore, up 63% Vs Rs 109 crore YoY
• Profit After Tax at Rs 71 crore, up 40% Vs Rs 51 crore YoY
• ROCE of the business stood at 29%

Elaborating on the quarter performance, Dr Anand Agarwal, CEO, Sterlite Tech said, “We are excited about the pace at which enterprises and consumers are embracing new technologies. Fibre continues to be the ideal medium for building smarter networks, and Sterlite Tech is the most integrated player globally with unique capabilities of creating fibre-based data networks – from base infrastructure to the software monetisation layer. We are seeing a major world-wide trend towards next-generation web-scale networks with processing and storage at the edge.” He added, “With our deep global customer engagement, we are designing, building and managing such future-ready web-scale networks across the world.”

Asserting the company’s growth prospects, Pravin Agarwal, Vice Chairman, Sterlite Tech said, “Our sustained strong financial performance over the quarters is a validation of our unique silicon to software capabilities. Technology innovation is at the core of the company, and we are constantly creating solutions that position us as a global leader driving digital transformation.” He added, “This transformation will better everyday living experiences, while supporting the Digital India vision and enabling the broadband policies of many countries.”