There was no stopping e-Serve International on Wednesday, as it volleyed higher after showing a spectacular 104% rise in net profit.

The scrip of e-Serve International zoomed 9.08% to Rs 480 by 10:30 IST. By then, it recorded volumes of 20,071 shares on BSE.

Late Tuesday, e-Serve International said that, for Q4 ended 31 March 2003, it notched up a massive 104% rise in net profit to Rs 11.20 crore compared to Rs 5.5 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Net sales increased 18.4% to Rs 70.53 crore from Rs 59.58 crore in MQ 2002.

Analysts expectations were much lower than what was actually achieved - net profit of around Rs 8.1 crore on net sales of about Rs 70 crore.

On a sequential basis, too, the company has done exceedingly well - a 44.7% jump in net profit from Rs 7.74 crore in December 2002, on a 7% growth in net sales from Rs 66.05 crore.

For FY 2002-03, the company posted a 138% increase in net profit to Rs 30.39 crore (Rs 12.78 crore) on a 28% increase in net sales to Rs 256.39 crore (Rs 200.68 crore). The company's board also recommended a dividend of 25% for FY 2002-03.

The company's own guidance has been surpassed in the latest outcome. The management had earlier given a conservative outlook for FY 2002-03, expecting a top line growth of around 25% and a bottom line growth of 60%-70%. The company recorded a 138% rise in PAT and a 28% jump in total income, in contrast.

e-Serve has been a pioneer in India's ITES sector. The company is now focussing on increasing its export base. It is likely to continue its focus on measures like improving productivity, quality of service and cost management. It has also invested in new facilities in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi in line with the expected growth.

The management believes that there are many opportunities for the company in future, in the form of its association with Citigroup as well as other new opportunities. However, competition in the ITES segment is intense and, hence, the company will need to use its technology advantage, quality service, state of the art physical facilities and corporate values as key differentiators in future.

Also, the company provides services mainly to Citigroup entities and needs to expand its scope of operations to other customers as well. Besides, the company could get hurt by the slowdown in outsourcing, the pressure on billing rates, the longer sales cycles and the change in government policies.

e-Serve was formerly known as Citicorp Securities and Investments. After acquiring a small processing business from Citicorp Information Technology India (CITIL, now known as I-flex Solutions), e-Serve successfully transformed itself into the second largest IT-enabled services (ITES) company in India. Also, it completed the amalgamation of Citicorp Credit Services India (CCSIL), a call center subsidiary of Citigroup during the year ended 31 March 2002 and further consolidated its overall position.

ITES is e-Serve's core competence having begun this activity in 1992. e-Serve focuses on providing sophisticated IT-enabled solutions, supported by cutting edge technology and robust infrastructure. e-Serve provides transaction processing solutions, customer care solutions and technology services to the financial industry. e-Serve's clientele includes global and Citigroup entities from several countries .