Cranes Software International Ltd. (Cranes),Company that provides Enterprise Statistical Analytics and Engineering Simulation Software Products and Solutions across the globe, today announced its audited financial results for the year ended March 31, 2008.

Cranes Software Group performance review:
Yearly review
FY08 (April – March 2008) v/s FY07 (April – March 2007)
• Total revenues higher by 40% to Rs. 3,986 million compared to Rs. 2,849 million
o Overseas revenues were up 42% to Rs. 3198 million whereas domestic sales increased by 29% to Rs. 754 million
• Operating profit increased by 35% to Rs. 2,038 million from Rs. 1,506 million
• Net profit after tax up 32% to Rs. 1150 million from Rs. 871 million
• Diluted EPS up at Rs. 8.85 compared to Rs. 6.69

Quarterly Review

Corresponding quarter comparison:

Q4 FY08 (January – March 2008) v/s Q4 FY07 (January – March 2007)

• Total income increased by 42% from Rs. 828 million to Rs. 1177 million in the quarter under review

o Overseas revenues were up 57% at Rs. 915 million and constitute 78% of total revenues

o Domestic revenues rose 17% from Rs. 219 million to Rs. 257 million in the current quarter

• Operating profit improved by 30% to Rs. 508 million compared to Rs. 392 million in the previous corresponding quarter. Operating margin was at 43% during the quarter

• Net profit after tax grew by 29% to Rs. 317 million translating into diluted EPS of Rs.2.43 as against Rs. 1.52 reported during the same period last year

Sequential quarter comparison:

Q4 FY08 (January – March 2008) v/s Q3 FY08 (October – December 2007)

• Total revenues increased 12% from Rs. 1,051 million to Rs. 1177 million Cranes Software International Limited:

Financial results for period ended March 31, 2008

o Overseas revenues expanded by 6% q-o-q from Rs. 863.9 million to Rs.915 million

o Domestic revenues increased by 47%, from Rs. 174 million in the previous

sequential quarter to Rs. 257 million

• Net profit after tax was at 317 million.

Business-wise Revenue Analysis

Proprietary products grew by 8% and 51% on a sequential and quarter on quarter basis respectively. We expect this segment to grow at a healthy pace and constitute majority of total revenues.

Other Highlights

• Board recommends a regular dividend of 20% and a special dividend of 40%, thereby aggregating to 60% (Rs.1.20/- per share)

• Strong focus on technologies, its applications and on strengthening presence in Engineering Simulation and Enterprise Data Analytics

Commenting on the financial results, Asif Khader, Managing Director, Cranes Software International Limited, said: “The year gone by has been a milestone year for Cranes Software, both from a financial as well as an operational perspective. The Company registered a growth of 40% at Rs. 3986.42 million to its top-line. The demand for business is as robust as ever and the management is well equipped for the next big leap of becoming a leading player in the engineering simulation and data analytics space.

In an effort to provide greater focus and better understanding of our business, the Company has streamlined its product offerings into two revenue centric groups of Engineering and Analytics. While the engineering group focuses on the automotive and aerospace verticals,the analytics group caters to the pharmaceutical, environmental science, social science,telecom, and BFSI sectors.

The acquisition of Engineering Technology Associates (ETA) has strengthened Cranes’ position in the engineering simulation space. Cranes now has access to the advanced design and development centre in China and the Company is well poised to capture the lucrative Chinese auto market. Meanwhile, the Company released newer versions of NISA and a variation of SYSTAT as well as formed a strategic alliance with Fractal Analytics, to develop Predicta.

Going forward, the Company is confident of expanding business globally and delivering robust financial performance. Our goal is to create sustained shareholder wealth while taking our business to new heights.”

Key operating/ financial highlights:

• The Company’s own 35,000 sq. feet state of art facility was made operational

• During FY08, Cranes increased its global headcount to 1,040. Additions were made to the product development, and sales & marketing teams

• Cranes directed efforts towards maintaining a healthy working capital position.

Debtors’ outstanding position at Rs. 1550 million at the close of FY08 compared to Rs. 1070 million at the close of FY07 resulted in DSO of 143 days

• Cranes’ debt / equity ratio stood at 1.19:1

• Cash and cash equivalents position improved to Rs. 2809 million at the close of FY08

Key corporate developments during FY 2008:

Acquisitions:

During the year, Cranes successfully completed the acquisition of Engineering Technology Associates (ETA) in the engineering simulations domain. ETA, a specialized auto consulting and product development firm, is a tier one vendor to the big three automakers in the U.S. This acquisition has not only enhanced the Company’s product offerings, but also enabled it to penetrate the lucrative Chinese Auto market. Cranes now has access to the advanced design and development centre in China, from which the Company is particularly optimistic of extracting high value.

Cranes acquired ETA through its subsidiary in the US viz., Cranes Software Inc and has invested Rs. 720 million towards this venture.

Strategic Alliances:

Cranes Software entered into a strategic agreement with Fractal Analytics to develop Predicta, which is a sophisticated model and scorecard development application with domain specific knowledge and analytical prowess embedded in it. This alliance combines Cranes’ ability to develop statistical software products with Fractal’s expertise in the domain of credit scoring and risk management. Predicta will provide banks and financial services firms with superior risk management in the areas of credit risk assessment, speedy execution of loan approvals and saving of costs at contact point verification.

These acquisitions and alliances were completed in the quarter under review. Tilak AutoTech and Caravel Info Systems, which were acquired earlier, have been fully integrated into the engineering simulations business.

New product launches

* NISA Version 15.5 – targeted towards enterprise customers enabling them to solve large size complex structural and fluid problems significantly faster using multi-core/multi-processor machines
* NISA Version 15.0 – latest version of NISA for the Linux community with substantial enhancements addressing seismic analysis requirements of power industry
* NISA DesignStudio – a civil engineering software for individual structural design consultants
* MYSTAT 12 – a freely downloadable statistical analysis software package designed specifically for the use of students and teaching community.

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