Persistent Systems Plunges 7%, L&T Technology Services Flat After Q1 Results

Persistent Systems’ share price dropped over 7% while L&T Technology Services’ shares remained flat in early trading on Friday following their Q1 results.

Persistent Systems:

• Q1FY25 Net Profit: ₹306.4 crore, down 2.8% from ₹315.3 crore in the previous quarter.
• Revenue: Increased by 5.7% to ₹2,737 crore from ₹2,590.5 crore sequentially.
• Sector Performance: Healthcare grew 16.5% QoQ, Hi-Tech declined by 0.5%, and BFSI rose by 5.9%.
• Regional Growth: North America and Europe grew by 6.4% and 5.6%, respectively, while APAC remained stable at 0.3%.
• EBIT: Rose 2.5% to ₹383.8 crore, with EBIT margin improving to 14%.

L&T Technology Services:

• Q1FY25 Net Profit: ₹313.6 crore, an 8% decline from ₹340.9 crore in the previous quarter.
• Revenue: Fell by 3% to ₹2,462 crore from ₹2,537.5 crore. In dollars, revenue dropped 3.3% to $295 million.
• EBIT: Decreased by 10.4% to ₹383.6 crore, with EBIT margin contracting to 15.6%.
• Management’s Comment: Cited SWC seasonality and project completion in North America as reasons for the weak performance. They maintained FY25 revenue growth guidance of 8-10%, despite concerns over the next quarters’ growth.

Brokerage Firm Opinions:

• Nuvama Institutional Equities: Downgraded FY25 and FY26 estimates by 5%-6% due to lower growth expectations, but kept a ‘Hold’ rating with a target price of ₹5,050.
• Motilal Oswal: Lowered FY25 EPS estimate by 4% but maintained FY26 EPS. They kept a ‘Buy’ rating with a target price of ₹5,950, citing digital spending boosting ER&D and LTTS’s strong market position.

As of 9:30 am, Persistent Systems shares were down 5.83% at ₹4,607.35, and L&T Technology Services shares fell 0.96% to ₹4,798.65 on the BSE.