NEW DELHI: NYSE-listed WNS, which runs
business process management services, reported a marginal drop in
profit for March quarter on Thursday hit by an impairment charge. Net profit in the fourth quarter dropped to $29.5 million from $29.7 million in the same quarter last year. In December quarter, the company had reported $30.9 million profit.
The company said its bottom line was hit by a non-recurring impairment charge of $4.1 million for the remaining
goodwill balance of the WNS
AutoClaims business. “The company believes this impairment charge was necessary given changes in the demand environment for AutoClaims services,” it said in a statement.
Revenue for the quarter stood at $248.3 million, representing an 18 per cent increase versus Q4 of last year and a 3.8 per cent increase from the previous quarter. “Year-over-year, profit favorability was driven by revenue growth, hedging gains net of currency movements, improved seat utilization, and a lower effective tax rate. These benefits were partially offset by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, annual wage increases, goodwill impairment, reduced productivity and higher share-based compensation expense,” it said.
WNS, which has 44,000 employees across the world, is sitting on $269 million of net cash, it said. “As we begin stepping into a new normal, the focus will continue to be on digital and automation. Some of our existing solutions are already equipped to cater to the demands of this new normal. We are also fully committed to making the right investments to build newer capabilities or upgrade existing offerings to suit the demands of the new normal across industries,” said Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS.