New Delhi, Jan. 21: NIIT will issue a $10-million foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) to Intel Capital.
The company will use the proceeds to expand its domestic and international business. The decision is also aimed at developing programmes for a joint mission of taking technology-assisted learning to rural and remote parts of the country.
The two companies, Intel and NIIT, have signed a memorandum of understanding. The target will be to double the number of Indian schools benefiting from computer-assisted education to 80,000 by 2010. This was announced by NIIT today while declaring its results for the third quarter ended December.
Regarding the initiative, P. Rajendran, chief operating officer of NIIT, said, ?We are excited about working with Intel to contribute to the process of nation-building by taking the benefits of IT to the deep interiors of India.? NIIT Ltd and its subsidiaries have turned around with a net profit of Rs 4.8 crore during the reporting quarter against a loss of Rs 116 crore in the same period last year.
The company has also reported a consolidated operating profit of Rs 9.2 crore compared with a loss of Rs 20 lakh in the year-ago period. This has led to a 1070 basis points improvement in the operating profit margin to 11 per cent. The nine-month operating profit of Rs 36.1 crore is up 145 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The earning per share (EPS) for the nine-month period grew by 46 per cent at Rs 14.3, which is an improvement over Rs 9.8 registered during the 12-month period ended March 2004. Commenting on the result, Rajendra S. Pawar, NIIT chairman, said, ?Growing acceptance of the GNIIT programme by the software industry translated to 28 per cent growth in enrolments by career seekers.?
NIIT Technologies
NIIT Technologies has registered a 133 per cent year-on-year growth in net profit during the quarter ended December 2004 at Rs 13.3 crore. Its operating profit grew 60 per cent at Rs 25.1 crore.
The company reported a 12 per cent growth in its consolidated revenues at Rs 141.2 crore on a year-on-year basis.
