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Pentafour Comm net at Rs 21 cr

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, Jan. 18

PENTAFOUR Communications Ltd (officially renamed from today as Pentasoft Technologies Ltd) has recorded a net profit of Rs. 21.15 crores, after the acquisition of the software division from erstwhile Pentafour Software & Exports Ltd, for the quarter ende d December 31, 1999.

Total sales amounted to Rs. 97.77 crores, while total expenditure came to Rs. 66.91 crores. Interest expenses were Rs. 2.41 crores, while depreciation expenses stood at Rs. 8.79 crores. The company has made a provision of Rs. 75 lakhs for taxation.

For the quarter ended December 31, 1998, before the acquisition, the company reported net profits of Rs. 2.73 crores, total sales of Rs. 15.74 crores, total expenditure of Rs. 10.29 crores, interest expense of Rs. 1.09 crores, depreciation expenses of Rs . 1.35 crores and taxation provision of Rs. 33 lakhs. The paid-up equity capital of the company has increased from Rs. 5.10 crores to Rs. 8.10 crores.

For the nine-month period ended December 31, 1999, the company reported net profit of Rs. 55.31 crores, total sales of Rs. 283.64 crores, total expenditure of Rs. 196.61 crores, interest expense of Rs. 3.85 crores, depreciation expense of Rs. 25.76 crore s with a Rs. 5.17-crore provision for taxation.

For the same period the previous year, the company reported a net profit of Rs. 7.89 crores, total sales of Rs. 43.54 crores, total expenditure of Rs. 28.12 crores, interest expense of Rs. 3.01, depreciation expense of Rs. 3.83 crores with a Rs. 93-lakh provision for taxation.

Pentafour Communications Ltd has changed its name to Pentasoft Technologies Ltd. According to the statement, the name change is to reflect the acquisition of the software division of erstwhile Pentafour Software & Exports Ltd. The company will now have f ive business units: Business software services, education and training, systems integration, engineering services and Internet and communications services.

Education and training contributed 12 per cent of the business (Rs. 11.83 crores) in the third quarter, the business software services contributed around 72 per cent at Rs. 70.12 crores, the systems integration division at Rs. 5.96 crores (about 6 per ce nt of turnover), and the engineering services division around Rs. 9.86 crores (about 10 per cent).

Joint ventures: The company has formed a joint venture with Acumen of Botswana to meet demands of the African continent. The venture is particularly looking at projects in governments.

It has also signed a software provider agreement with Hewlett Packard Asia Pacific to port products of the company with HP's products. It has also tied up with the Export Promotion Zone Development Authority (EPZDA), Mauritius, to provide IT solutions to existing clients of the authority.

In the coming quarter, the company plans to open new offices in Australia, the UK, Dubai and Switzerland, to focus on CAD and GIS projects. A company release said Pentafour will be establishing an offshore development centre in Chennai to cater to major Fortune 500 clients. This centre will be operational by February. Pentaguru and Pentahelp are e-portals that the company plans to launch in the next quarter with MTNL and Mt Sierra College, US.