Hughes Software found itself upwardly mobile on Thursday as institutions, particularly Prudential ICICI, were buying on the counter.

By 13:30 IST, Hughes Software jumped up by 4.25% to Rs 158.35. It came off its intra-day high of Rs 161.90 in the mean time. High volumes of over 1.18 million were registered on the counter.

Hughes Software has witnessed mixed trends in the last few sessions. In two sessions between 3 and 5 February 2003, the scrip lost 7% to Rs 151.90 from Rs 163.40 following profit booking after a huge rise. In the prior five sessions between 27 January and 3 February 2003, the scrip rose 26.5% from Rs 129.15.

Considerable institutional buying is taking place on the counter. Market buzz has it that Prudential ICICI is actively buying.

There's talk that the company is at an advanced stage of bagging an order from Lucent Technologies for an outsourcing contract, likely to generate revenues of about $10 million for Hughes over three years.

Earlier HSSL registered its third quarter ended 31 December 2002 results - a 21.3% fall in net profit to Rs 11.40 crore. Its total income declined by 6.2% to Rs 59 crore.

At the time of announcing Q3 results, Hughes Software's management said the company's sales may record a 10% sequential growth in Q4 ending 31 March 2003 from Q3 ended December 2002, but the next four quarters will continue to be difficult for the telecom sector.

The company, which derives revenues from the telecom domain, has been feeling the pinch of the sluggishness in the telecom sector globally. While the management gave a guidance of 10% sequential growth in revenues for the fourth quarter, it did not give guidance on profitability.

In order to de-risk its business and create added opportunities, HSSL has decided to enter into the business process outsourcing segment. This will be started as an independent operation. HSSL is also diversifying its revenue streams and is working currently for a foray into the banking, financial services, insurance segment.

Hughes Software is a subsidiary of HNS, formerly a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation. HNS is a networking company, dedicated to providing products and services to build and operate digital communication networks worldwide. HNS is the world leader in VSAT-based networks. HE is a world leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of advanced electronic systems. It was a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, US. HNS-India Inc. is the principal shareholder in Hughes Software. The current promoter holding in Hughes Software is 55.57%, the same as on 30 September 2002.