Shares of Persistent Systems slumped nearly 15 per cent as the company’s second quarter earnings failed to cheer investors.
The stock nosedived 14.61 per cent to settle at Rs 564.95 on the BSE. Intraday the stock tanked 18.37 per cent to Rs 540 -- its 52-week low. On the NSE, the shares tumbled 11.47 per cent to close at Rs 585.
The company’s market valuation declined by Rs 772.4 crore to Rs 4,519.60 crore on the BSE. In terms of equity volume, 1.68 lakh shares were traded on the BSE and over 24 lakh shares changed hands on the NSE.
Persistent Systems has reported a 7 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 88.14 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2018. The net profit stood at Rs 82.62 crore in the July-September period of 2017-18.
Total income increased to Rs 858.78 crore in the September quarter of 2018-19 against Rs 794.89 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing.
“As of September 30, 2018, Persistent Systems Limited had deposits of Rs 43 crore with Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd and IL&FS Financial Services Ltd. These are due for maturity from January 2019 to June 2019. As of September 30, 2018, there have been no defaults in payment of interest on the aforesaid deposits,” it said.
“While our digital numbers are lower than expected, we see good growth opportunities across all segments of our business and multiple new projects started this quarter that will deliver long-term revenue growth,” said Anand Deshpande, Chairman and Managing Director, Persistent Systems.