Mphasis to buy back shares at Rs 1,350 per share

Bengaluru-based mid-tier IT services company, Mphasis on Tuesday approved a share buyback plan involving a total outlay of Rs 988.3 crore.

The company will pay Rs 1,350 per share, according to the plan approved by the board of directors, at a meeting held on Tuesday. It will buy back 73,20,555 shares, which represents 3.79% of the total paid up equity share capital, the company said in a statement.

The company's promoter group has also expressed interest to participate in the share buyback. Marble II, a unit owned by PE firm Blackstone, which recently sold 8% stake in the IT company at Rs 960 per share, is the promoter of the company with 52.37% stake.

"The buyback will be subject to the approval of the shareholders of the company by way of a special resolution through postal ballot and all other applicable statutory approvals," the company said in a BSE filing.

Last year, Mphasis had completed buyback of 1.74 crore shares with a total outlay of Rs 1,103 crore.

IT companies have kept up the momentum on buybacks this year too. HCL Technologies has announced a Rs 4,000 crore buyback plan, involving up to 3.63 crore shares at a price of Rs 1,100 per equity share.

The largest software exporter TCS also announced a Rs 16,000-crore share buyback, second in as many years, as part of its long-term capital allocation policy of returning excess cash to the shareholders.

Net profit rises 38%

Meanwhile, Mphasis on Tuesday reported 38% jump in their net profit at Rs 258.3 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2018, against Rs 187.2 in the corresponding quarter last fiscal year.

The company's revenues rose 18.5% to Rs 1,820.2 crore during the quarter as against Rs 1,536 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company's board has also accepted the resignation of Dario Zamarian, director of the company, with effect from the closing hours on August 6, 2018 due to personal reasons and Board has accepted the same. The board has also approved the appointment of Marshall Lux as an additional director on the company.

“We have entered FY2019 with a strong pipeline and consecutive quarters of growth across key businesses. Our investments in next-generation technologies and approach to applying these consistently for our clients is helping us win in the marketplace,” Nitin Rakesh, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Mphasis said.

The company added 12 clients in the quarter, with seven additions in the emerging industries vertical.

The company's stock closed 1.53% up at Rs 1,193 per scrip on the BSE on Tuesday.