Corporate Grapevine

Published: Dec 29, 2020
Updated: Dec 29, 2020

Aurionpro Solutions - Spreading tech solutions footprint

“With the improving economic conditions, increased momentum across all business segments and improved financial indicators, we are confident of seeing a long and sustained growth phase along with strong profitability, going forward,” says Paresh Zaveri, Chairman and MD.

ASL is a global technology solutions player which helps enterprises accelerate their digital innovation, security and efficiency. Employing more than 1,000 domain experts across North America and Asia, the company caters to clients across BFSI, Smart Cities and Smart Mobility sectors.

While giving the segmentwise details, Mr Zaveri says banking and fintech continues to post a healthy performance and strong profitability. “During the second quarter of the current fiscal, we signed multiple deals with some large banks from East Asian markets for enhancement and upgrades. We are also seeing good momentum in domestic markets. The outlook for this segment remains robust and healthy,” he notes.

Adds Mr Zaveri, “In the Technology Innovation Group (TIG), the performance has improved and we are seeing good momentum in the smart transit segment where we have won new orders, expanding our footprint in new geographies.”

SINGAPORE DEAL

ASL has acquired SC Soft through its Singaporebased subsidiary Aurionpro Solutions Pte Ltd. Looking at rapid expansion of business with multiple deal wins and a likely growth engine in the acquisition for the future, the company has decided to increase its stake in SC Soft to 80% in a phased manner by December 2022. This will cost $ 2.95 million, which will be financed through its strong internal accruals. This acquisition is pursuant to the right available to ASL under the subscription and shareholders’ agreement signed while acquiring a 51% stake in 2018. Commenting on this important development, Mr Zaveri says,”The SC Soft acquisition has provided us the strategic edge in the AFC segment.”

SC Soft has been selected as the solution provider of the EMV open loop account- based ticketing system, as part of the digitization of transportation solutions across Maldives for the Maldives Transport Contracting Company. Commenting on this win, Mr Zaveri says,”This deal marks our foray into Maldives. We as technology partner, and Mastercard and Bank of Maldives as financial partners, will offer contactless ticketing solutions to the citizens of Maldives across multiple modes of transport. We are working with Mastercard on multiple deals globally and are happy with the strengthening of our partnership. This win will further cement our leadership position in the fast-growing account-based ticketing and open loop AFC segment.”

ASL has started doing well in the Smart City space also. Giving an insight in this regard, Mr Zaveri informs, “We are encouraged with the traction seen in the Smart City segment in which there are healthy additions to the pipeline, and hope to bag some major orders as well.”

Data Centre is another promising domain where ASL has started putting in aggressive efforts. Expressing a sense of satisfaction supported by optimism, Mr Zaveri says, “The market for Data Centre is expanding well. In the last few quarters, we were focusing on building capabilities and hiring skilled resources. Our strategy has started bearing fruit. We are delighted in winning projects from two prestigious customers — Tata Power and IIT Guwahati — which will position us as a strong player in this segment.”

U.P. ACQUISITION

Recently, ASL entered into a definitive agreement for acquisition of the controlling stake of 51% in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh)-based Toshi Automatic Systems Pvt Ltd (TASPL), an innovator with products and solutions in the Industrial, Public Safety and Mass Transit segments. While announcing the acquisition of TASPL, Mr Zaveri says, “We are a preferred solutions provider in the Smart Mobility segment, and with the recent spate of wins in India and various parts of the world, Aurionpro is poised for aggressive growth in this segment. This acquisition will allow us to further consolidate our position as the only integrated player in the automatic fare collection and transit solutions space in India. With a major thrust on ‘Make in India’, we see enormous benefit for the combined strength of Aurionpro and TASPL.”

Another recent order win of around Rs 190 crore from the High Court of Madhya Pradesh involves the complete digitization and implementation of video surveilliance systems and live audio-visual stream systems. Mr Zaveri notes, “This is a strategic win and will firmly place us as the preferred player for similar projects in future. We are having a strong year in terms of growth and the string of recent wins will help us sustain this growth trajectory next year as well.”

FINANCES UP

On a consolidated basis, ASL achieved revenue of Rs 377 crore with a net loss after tax of Rs 117.57 crore in FY 21. However, its performance in the first half of the current fiscal has improved, with revenue of Rs 240 crore against Rs 164 crore in the previous year. PAT was higher at Rs 34.31 crore vis-à-vis Rs 11.75 crore during the same period in FY 21. The company’s equity capital is Rs 22.80 crore.

Regarding the Q2 financial results, Mr Zaveri says, “We have reported a sustained growth on all parameters sequentially as well as on a yoy basis. Consolidated revenue for Q2FY22 stood at Rs 122.23 crore, a growth of about 40% compared to the same period last year, and net profit was Rs 18.89 crore, a growth of 143% vis-à-vis the last year. We continue to maintain a healthy EBIDTA margin at 21.9% and PAT at 15.5%.

ASL has a total borrowing of Rs 61.67 crore as on September 30, 2021, against Rs 113.75 crore at year ending March 31, 2021. In other words, in a span of six months it has reduced its debt by Rs 52.08 crore, translating into about 46%. Expressing his joy over this, Mr Zaveri says,”We are very close to our target of being a debt-free company and as can be seen, along with strong growth, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet. In the second half of the year, we expect this process to sustain at a better pace.”

It is worth noting that the finance cost of the company in FY 21 has been Rs 15.80 crore, whereas it has shown a sharp reduction at Rs 4.53 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal vis-à-vis Rs 8.10 crore during the same period in the previous year. The capital work-in-progress as of Septembre 2021 stands at Rs 22 crore.