| SIFY
reports US GAAP results for the Quarter ended 30th June
2003
Sify revenues continue strong growth
over last year Prepares for next level of growth &
consolidation
Chennai, India, 15th July 2003: Sify
Limited (Nasdaq National Market: SIFY), India’s
premier Internet, networking and e-Commerce company,
announced today its consolidated US GAAP results for
the first quarter ended June 30th 2003.
Performance
highlights
- Sify's sales revenue during the quarter at $ 12.95
million was 49% higher than same quarter last year.
- Sify incurred a planned cash loss (in adjusted
EBITDA terms) of $ 1.37 million during the quarter
compared to $ 4.37 million for the same quarter
last year. There were significant planned onetime
costs incurred in building the Sify iWay brand concurrent
with a drive to expand the number of cybercafes
across the country.
- Cash burn during the quarter was $ 1.57 million
attributable substantially to investments made in
expanding the technology infrastructure to support
the envisaged expansion in the cybercafe business.
- Net loss during the quarter at $ 4.46 million
was 51% less than that of same quarter last year.
Mr. R Ramaraj, Managing Director and
CEO, said, "It was not too difficult a choice for
us to evaluate between maintaining cash profits and
incurring one time marketing expenses for the expanding
cybercafe business. I am pleased to report that the
number of cybercafes in our iWay network has exceeded
1,000 this quarter and is becoming a model for delivering
broadband Internet across the country to people without
PCs at home"
Mr. George Zacharias, President &
COO, said, "In addition to investing in our core
businesses, we have exited a few businesses during the
quarter to improve efficiencies. We have exited the
set-top box joint venture with Baron and the India Plaza
portal during the quarter. We have also sold our investment
in the Satyam Institute of E Business in the first week
of July 2003. This rationalization will allow us to
use the $ 29 million cash in hand as of date ($ 23 million
cash at end of quarter) in a focused manner.
This is as per our business strategy
and plan, laying the foundation for growth in revenues
in the latter half of the year. We will continue to
invest for growth in the near term in market development,
bandwidth and customer acquisition to consolidate the
company’s position and competitiveness in every
line of business."
Summarized
Results:
(In $ million, all translated at $1
= Rs 46.40)
| |
2003 |
2002 |
2003 |
2003 |
| Corporate services |
6.09 |
4.55
|
6.54
|
21.89 |
| Retail internet access |
5.03
|
2.95
|
4.47 |
14.54
|
| Interactive services |
0.55
|
0.81
|
0.83
|
3.55
|
| Others |
1.28 |
0.40
|
1.24
|
3.00
|
| Sales Revenue |
12.95
|
8.71 |
13.07
|
42.98
|
| Adjusted EBITDA * |
(1.37) |
(4.37) |
0.30
|
(10.56) |
| Depreciation & amortization |
(3.10) |
(3.07) |
(2.89) |
(
13.08) |
| Impairment of goodwill/assets |
0.00
|
(1.86) |
(0.93) |
(5.33) |
| Depreciation/impairment in Affiliates |
(0.17) |
(0.12) |
(0.27) |
(0.81) |
| Profit on business sold/discontinued |
0.00
|
0.00
|
0.49
|
0.53
|
| Net interest |
0.18
|
0.15
|
0.33
|
0.67
|
| Tax |
(0.00) |
0.09
|
(0.19) |
(0.06) |
| Net income/(loss) |
(4.46) |
(9.18) |
(3.17) |
(28.64) |
| Adjusted EBITDA*/(loss) $/ADR |
(0.04) |
(0.19) |
0.01 |
(0.41) |
| Net income/(loss) $/ADR |
(0.13) |
(0.40) |
(0.10) |
(1.10) |
Adjusted EBITDA represents net income (loss) before
interest, income tax, depreciation and amortization,
impairment of intangible assets and results of discontinued
operations. Please see "Non-GAAP Financial Information",
below.
Corporate
Services
Key Customer wins in data/network services
include Ranbaxy, HDFC Standard Life, Hinduja TMT, Schenker
India, Vetri Software, Asia on Wheels and CGTSI (formerly
SIDBI).
Key wins in Application Services include
State Bank of India, Johnson and Johnson, SRF, GSK-
Consumer division and Universitas 21-Singapore.
A branded offering in the area of Internet
Infrastructure Management Services, named ‘Netsourze’,
was launched during the quarter. This suite of services
makes Sify the only Hosting Services Provider moving
up the value chain to offer a complete basket of tools
for monitoring, analyzing and rectification of the entire
application environment.
A Competency Center was established
at Mumbai to showcase Sify’s capabilities in providing
security and solutions. The center simulates solutions
on access content filtering, token access, etc. through
integration of diverse hardware and software.
Sify launched "Apna Website",
a first of its kind solution targeted specifically at
small businesses looking for a web presence. It makes
the business independent of the complexity of the process
of building, hosting and managing websites.
Sify’s subsidiary Safescrypt
launched SafeDoxx, a desktop signing utility that enables
users to digitally sign and encrypt files on their computers.
Key wins in this business include Wipro, Mphasis, Mastek,
MEPZ and SEEPZ.
Consumer Services
The Access Media business segment accounted
for 39% of Sify’s revenue made up as below:
Internet access at home through dial
up/broadband etc 20%
Internet access at "iWay" cybercafes 13%
Other value added services 6%
In the dial-up market, Sify continued
to be a leader in spite of intense price competition
from telcos by offering a superior quality of user experience
with first time connectivity, uninterrupted services
and speedy downloads. Sify extended broadband Internet
access to homes by providing services through tie-ups
with cable operators in several cities.
Sify’s iWay cyber cafes increased
to over 1000 with the service being extended to cover
25 cities. More than 90% of them are on broadband with
high speed, reliable last mile connectivity managed
by Sify. This has enabled us to provide a superior quality
of user experience.
About Sify
Sify is the largest network and e-Commerce
services company in India, offering end-to-end solutions
with a comprehensive range of products delivered over
a common Internet backbone infrastructure. This Internet
backbone reaches 55 points of presence in India, representing
an estimated 90% of the established PC base in the country.
A significant part of the company's revenue is derived
from Corporate Services, which include corporate connectivity,
network and communications solutions, security, network
management services and hosting. As of June 30, 2003,
a host of blue chip customers used Sify's corporate
service offerings. The company's network services, data
center operations and customer relationship management
are accredited ISO 9001:2000.
For more information about Sify, visit
www.sifycorp.com.
Non-GAAP Financial
Information
Our presentation of financial information
above includes a presentation of Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA
is neither an Indian GAAP measure nor a U.S. GAAP measure
and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative
to net income as an indicator of operating performance
or as an alternative to cash flow as a measure of liquidity.
Our presentation above also includes a reconciliation
of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, which we believe to
be the most comparable financial measure under U.S.
GAAP.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented because it is a basis upon
which our management assesses our financial performance
and because we believe some investors find it to be
a useful tool for measuring a company’s ability
to fund operating obligations and capital expenditures.
Investors evaluating our financial performance or analyzing
our discounted cash flows based on Adjusted EBITDA should
consider financing activities and non-recurring charges
that are not included in the calculation.
Our calculation includes significant charges recorded
to reflect the impairment of goodwill which are not
included in the calculation of EBITDA under the SEC’s
rules applicable to periodic reports. While EBITDA or
derivations thereof are frequently reported by many
companies as a supplemental measure of operations, it
is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled
captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies
in the method of calculation.
Forward Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those reflected
in the forward-looking statements. Sify undertakes no
duty to update any forward-looking statements.
For a discussion of the risks associated
with Sify’s business, please see the discussion
under the caption "Risks Related to Our Business"
in the company's report on Form 20F for the year ended
March 31, 2003 which has been filed with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission and is available
by accessing the database maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.
For further information please contact
Mr.
David Appasamy
Chief Communications Officer
Sify Limited
Phone: 91-44-2254 0770 Extension: 2013
Email: david_appasamy@sifycorp.com
Corporate Website: www.sifycorp.com |