Oracle Financial Services Software
BSE: 532466 | NSE: OFSS | ISIN: INE881D01027 | Computers - Software
- Directors Report
- Chairman's Speech
- Auditors Report
- Notes To Accounts
- Accounting Policy
- Finished Products
- Raw Materials
| Directors Report | Year End : Mar '08 |
The Directors take great pleasure in presenting their report on the
business and operations of your Company along with the Annual Report
and audited financial statements for the Financial Year 2007-08.
Financial highlights
As per Indian GAAP Unconsolidated:
(All amounts in millions of Indian Rupees)
Year ended Year ended
March 31, 2008 March 31, 2007
Revenue 17,929.72 15,523.44
Income from operations before
depreciation & amortization 4,551.97 4,027.53
Depreciation & amortization (603.10) (565.35)
Provision for diminution in
value of investment (120.00) -
Interest/other income (expenses) 486.53 348.30
Income before taxes 4,315.40 3,810.48
Provision for tax (206.66) (263.74)
Net income 4,108.74 3,546.74
Balance brought forward 4,009.57 464.24
Profit available for appropriation 8,118.31 4,010.98
Transfer to general reserve
Proposed dividend
Corporate dividend tax - 0.17
Dividend paid on stock options
exercised before AGM 2007 - 1.24
Balance carried forward 8,118.31 4,009.57
As per Indian GAAP Consolidated financial statements:
(Ml amounts In millions of Indian Rupees)
Year ended Year ended
March 31,2008 March 31, 2007
Revenue 23,802.36 20,609.38
Income from operations before
depreciation & amortization 4,672.30 4,424.50
Depreciation & amortization (705.88) (653.02)
Interest/other income
(expenses) 639.70 359.65
Income before taxes 4,606.12 4,131.13
Provision for tax (441.68) (415.96)
Net income for the year before
minority interest, share of
profit (toss) of associate 4,164,44 3,715.17
Minority interest (4.42) -
Share of profit (loss) of
associate (4.12) 7.63
Net income 4,155.90 3,722.80
Performance
On an unconsolidated basis, your Companys revenue grew to Rs.
17,929.72 million during the financial year 2007-08 from Rs. 15,523.44
million last year, a growth of 16%. The Companys net income recorded
16% growth over the previous financial year and increased to Rs.
4,108.74 million.
Revenue, on the basis of consolidated financials stood at Rs. 23,802.36
million this year, an increase of 15% from Rs. 20,609.38 million as
compared to the previous financial year. The Companys net income
increased to Rs. 4,155.90 million this year, an increase of 12%.
A detailed analysis of the financials is given in the Management
Discussion and Analysis report that forms part of this Annual Report.
Dividend
Your Company has aggressive plans to capitalize on the market
opportunities and needs to invest substantially in the growth of the
business. Keeping this in view, the Board has decided not to declare a
dividend for the year ended 2007-08. The funds will be used to further
invest in the growth opportunities to enhance the leadership of your
Company.
Transfer to reserves
The Company does not propose to transfer any amount to the General
Reserve out of the amount available for appropriation. An amount of Rs.
8,118.31 million is proposed to be retained in the Profit & Loss
Account.
Share capital
During the year, the Company allotted 395,529 equity shares of face
value of Rs. 5/- each to GE Capital Mauritius Equity Investment (GE)
upon exercise of the conversion option of equal number of warrants
allotted to GE in August 2005. The Company also allotted 63,332 equity
shares of face value of Rs. 5/- each to its employees/directors who
exercised their options under the Employee Stock Option Plan.
As a result, as on March 31,2008, the paid up equity share capital of
the Company increased to Rs. 418,737,205 divided into 83,747,441 equity
shares of face value of Rs. 5/- each.
Change of name
Oracle Global (Mauritius) Limited, the promoter of the Company holds
80.58% of the paid up equity capital of your Company. Oracle is the
worlds largest enterprise software provider. Your Company is a world
leader in providing IT solutions to the financial services industry.
With this background, the Board has approved the proposal to change the
name of your Company from i-flex solutions limited to Oracle
Financial Services Software Limited, subject to the regulatory and
shareholders approvals. The proposed name demonstrates the synergies
of scale, resources expertise and efficiency across the two
organizations and reflects the importance that Oracle attaches to the
financial services sector.
The approval of the shareholders for the change of name is being sought
at the Extra-ordinary General Meeting to be held on August 11, 2008.
Oracles holding in i-flexs shares
As of March 31, 2008, Oracle held 67,481,698 equity shares (80.58% of
the equity capital of the Company).
Use of IPO proceeds
In June 2002, your Company completed its Initial Public Offer (IPO) in
India and listed its shares on the National Stock Exchange of India
Ltd. (NSE) and Bombay Stpck Exchange Ltd. (BSE). The entire IPO
proceeds aggregating Rs. 1,781 million have been utilized as under:
Utilization of funds Rupees in million
Issue related expenses 103
Bangalore Development Center 555
Mumbai Development Center 1,018
Setting up of Dubai Office 1
Investment in subsidiary companies 104
Total 1,781
Your Company had issued shares to Oracle Global (Mauritius) Limited on
a preferential basis on September 14, 2006. The proceeds aggregating to
Rs. 5,815 million have been utilized as under:
Utilization of funds Rupees in million
Investment in i-flex America inc. in connection 5,679
with the acquisition of Mantas inc.
Investment in i-flex America inc. in connection
with the acquisition of the balance equity
stake in Castek Inc. 136
Total 5,815
All the proceeds of the IPO of 2002 and the preferential issue of 2006
have been utilized for the purposes for which they were raised.
Infrastructure
During the year, your Company made significant additions to its
infrastructure to meet its growing business requirements. The Company
opened new offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, creating capacity to
accommodate 2,000 additional professionals. The Companys subsidiaries
also added offices in New Jersey and London to accommodate a larger
workforce.
The construction of the Companys landmark building in Goregaon, Mumbai
right next to the Western Express Highway is complete. This building is
architecturally unique in Mumbai, having four floors for parking and 10
floors for work space. It has a unique Dome shaped reception with a
water body around it. Your Company is in the process of finalizing the
lease for over a million square feet of contiguous office space in
Bangalore in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Integration with Oracle Policies and Procedures
In order to derive synergies from Oracles global presence and
resources and fully comply with the governance norms that both i-flex
and Oracle are bound by, the Board has authorized the Company to
adopt Oracles policies and procedures within the applicable framework
of local regulations.
Acquisitions
Acquisition of balance equity stake in Flexcel International Private
Limited
On March 31, 2008, Flexcel (a joint venture with HDFC Bank Limited and
its group companies and Lord Krishna Bank) became a wholly owned
subsidiary of i-flex solutions ltd effective March 31, 2008 with the
acquisition of the balance 60% shares of Flexcel from its co-venture
parties.
i-flex solutions s.a.
On July 2, 2007, i-flex solutions b.v, (i-flex b.v.} acquired the
banking business from Athens Technology Center SA (ATC) for Rs.
670.05 million. The acquisition was structured by way of transfer of
all contracts, employees and fixed assets of the banking business from
ATC to a newly formed entity, i-flex solutions s.a., Greece with 90%
shares owned by i-flex b.v. Further, the Company has the right to
acquire balance 10% shares (based on earn out formulae) over 3 years in
a tranche of 5%, 3% and 2% after completion of 1,2 and 3 years
respectively from the date of acquisition. As the consideration payable
is dependent on future revenue and profits, the same is considered to
be a contingent consideration and will be accounted when the liability
arises. The Group consolidated i-flex solutions s.a. from July 2, 2007
and recorded goodwill amounting to Rs. 656.64 million.
Castek Software Inc. (Castek)
On November 16, 2007, Castek became a wholly owned subsidiary of i-flex
America inc. with the acquisition of the balance 23.23% shares of
Castek from minority shareholders for a total consideration of Rs.
327.39 million. As part of the acquisition, certain employees owning
shares of Castek were paid additional consideration amounting to Rs.
90.81 million based on the number of shares held by them. The Group has
recorded additional consideration-payment as employee compensation.
The Group recorded balance consideration as goodwill of Rs. 238.02
million considering Casteks negative net worth and minority losses
being absorbed by the Group till the date of acquisition.
Global alliances
Your Company lays a great emphasis in building and expanding its
partner network with organizations which can promote, sell, implement
and support its offerings around the world. The partner network
currently comprises 33 resellers and 20 implementation partners. The
expansion of partners has been prominent in the East European region,
especially in Russia and the CIS countries.
Leading System Integration (SI) Partners play an active role in
delivering solutions to customers of your company. The SI Partners
deliver projects in the CIS, Latin America, Middle East, Japan and
India.
The highlight of the engagement with partners this year has been the
enablement of partners to sell, implement and support our flagship
product FLEXCUBE, Reveleus, Mantas and Daybreak. There has been almost
a three-fold increase in the number of consultants with partner
organizations who have been trained and are qualified to implement
FLEXCUBE during the past year.
Subsidiaries
Your Company has subsidiaries in India, the USA, Singapore, the
Netherlands, Canada, Mauritius and Greece to handle operations as well
as to strengthen marketing and sales efforts in the respective markets
and to ensure deeper sales penetration in these regions.
During the financial year, i-flex solutions s.a., Greece became a
majority owned subsidiary of the Company through i-flex solutions b.v.,
the Netherlands The Companys subsidiary i-flex America inc. has
acquired the remaining equity stake in its subsidiary company Castek
Inc., Canada.
Pursuant to Section 212 of the Companies Act, 1956 (the Act), the
Company is required to attach to its Annual Report, the Balance Sheet,
Profit and Loss Account, Directors Report and the Report of the
Auditors (collectively referred to as the accounts and reports), of
its subsidiaries for the year ended March 31,2008. Since the Company
presents audited consolidated financial statements under Indian GAAP in
its Annual Report, the Company had applied to the Central Government
for an exemption from attaching the accounts and reports of its
subsidiaries to the Annual Report. The approval of the Central
Government in this regard has been received vide letter no.
47/246/2008-CL-lll dated June 24, 2008 exempting the Company from,
attaching the accounts and reports of subsidiary companies under the
provisions of Section 212 of the Act. As such, the accounts and the
reports of the subsidiary companies are not attached to the Annual
Report of the Company.
The Company will make available the accounts and the reports of the
subsidiary companies upon request by any member/investor of the Company
or its subsidiaries. Further, the accounts and the reports of the
subsidiary companies will be kept open for inspection by any member at
the registered/corporate office of the Company and the registered
office of the subsidiaries during office hours of the
Company/subsidiaries.
Fixed deposits
During the financial year 2007-08, the Company has not accepted any
fixed deposit within the meaning of Section 58A of the Companies Act,
1956 and as such, no amount of principal or interest was outstanding as
of the date of the Balance Sheet.
Awards, honors and recognitions
Your Company has consistently received wide recognition for leadership
and achievements.
- Business Week (November 2007) ranked i-flex solutions as one of
Asias Hot Growth Companies: 2007, i-flex was ranked second highest
in terms of market capitalization, third highest in terms of sales and
sixth highest in terms of profits.
- i-flex solutions was ranked 30 in the annual FinTech 100 list of
financial industry technology vendors by American Banker and Financial
Insights (November 2007).
- i-flex BPO won the NASSCOM Excellence in Gender Inclusivity- Best
Emerging Company award. This award was given away at the NASSCOM IT
Women Leadership Summit 2007 held in December 2007.
- The All India Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion
Council (ECS) award for Excellence in Exports for the year 2006-07 This
award was presented to i-flex in October 2007.
- i-flex recognized as a Deal Leader in global banking platforms by
independent research firm Forrester Research Inc. in the August 2007
report Global Banking Platform Deals 2006: Vendors.
- Mantas ranked number one in the Waters Ranking for Anti-Money
Laundering (AML) Solutions in July 2007.
- Dataquest magazine rated i-flex BPO among the top 10 dream
employers in the BPO sector in November 2007. This rating ranks
companies on various parameters linked to employee satisfaction.
- In November 2007, i-flex successfully completed the SAS70 Review of
Internal Controls for the sixth consecutive year.
Litigation
PortfolioScope, a company based in the United States of America, has
filed a lawsuit in a US District Court for the District of
Massachusetts alleging misappropriation of confidential and proprietary
information by the Company. The Company firmly believes that the
allegations are false, unwarranted and without merit and will
vigorously oppose the claims made by PortfolioScope. The Company had
filed a motion to dismiss PortfolioScopes complaint and has instructed
the legal advisers to take all appropriate actions to protect the
interests of the Company and its customers. The motion to dismiss was
granted in part, Discovery concluded on the limited issue of whether
PortfolioScopes claims were timely filed and is now going forward on
the question of whether or not the claims have any merit. The Court has
set a trial date for October 14, 2008.
Corporate governance
The Company has taken appropriate steps and measures to comply with all
the applicable provisions of Clause 49 of the listing agreement entered
with stock exchanges and Section 292A of the Companies Act, 1956.
Your Company has constituted five committees consisting of Board
members, namely, Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Transfer
Committee, ESOP Allotment Committee and Shareholders Grievances
Committee. A separate report on Corporate Governance, along with a
certificate of Statutory Auditors of the Company, is annexed herewith.
A certificate from the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of
the Company confirming internal controls and checks pertaining to
financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2008 was placed
before the Board of Directors and the Board has noted the same.
A list of the committees of the Board and names of their members is
given below. The scope of each of these committees and other related
information is detailed in the enclosed Corporate Governance Report.
Audit committee
Mr. Y M Kale (Chairman)
Mr. S P Bhamcha
Mr. William T Comfort, Jr.
Ms. Tarjani Vakil
Compensation committee
Mr. William T Comfort, Jr. (Chairman)
Mr. Y M Kale
Mr. Charles Phillips
Transfer committee
Ms. Tarjani Vakil (Chairperson)
Mr. Deepak Ghaisas
ESOP allotment committee
Ms. Tarjani Vakil (Chairperson)
Mr. Deepak Ghaisas
Shareholders grievances committee
Ms. Tarjani Vakil (Chairperson)
Mr. Deepak Ghaisas
Allotment of ESOP shares
The shareholders of the Company had approved the Employees Stock Option
Scheme (ESOP) of the Company in its Annual General Meeting of 2001.
According to the said scheme, the Company has granted shares to
eligible employees/directors from time to time. The details are given
below.
Financial year Total number of Options granted
2001-02 4,548,920
2002-03 80,000
2003-04 36,000
2004-05 60,000
2005-06 10,000
2006-07 373,000
2007-08 Nil
Total 5,107,920
Pricing formula At the fair market value
as on the date of grant
Options vested at the end of the
financial year 2007-2008 148,453
Options exercised during
2007-2008 63,332
Total number of shares arising
as a resul of exercise of options
during 2007-08 63,332
Options lapsed
2002-03 129,520
2003-04 112,500
2004-05 82,200
2005-06 87,600
2006-07 46,600
2007-08 35,900
Total 494,320
Variation of terms of options None
Money realized by exercise of
options Rs. 40,022,853
Total number of options in force 431,253
Employee-wise details of options granted during the financial year
ended March 31, 2008 to:
Number of Options
i. Director Nil
ii. Any other employee who receives grant in any one
year of option amounting to 5% or more of option
granted during that year Nil
iii. Identified employees who were granted option, during
any one year, equal to or exceeding 1% of the
issued capital (excluding outstanding warrants and
conversions) of the Company at the time of grant Nil
iv. Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) pursuant to the
issue of shares on exercise of option calculated in
accordance with accounting standard 20 Earnings
Per Share issued by the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India Rs. 49.17
Had compensation cost for the Companys ESOP been determined based
on fair value at the grant dates, Companys net income and earnings per
share would have been reduced to pro forma amounts indicated below:
March 31,2008
Net income as reported 4,108,745
Less: Compensation expense
determined using fair value of
options (54,918)
Pro forma net income 4,053,827
Basic income per share:
As reported 49.10
Pro forma 48.44
Diluted income per share:
As reported 49.02
Pro forma 48.37
During the financial year 2007-2008, no fresh options were granted,
hence, the data related to weighted average exercise price of the
options and weighted average fair value of the options is not
disclosed.
Human resources
Employees are our key assets and we have created a healthy and
productive work environment which encourages excellence. We
continuously invest in training staff in the latest technology trends
and in various sub-verticals within the financial services domain.
To meet business growth requirements, we have invested in increasing
the manpower strength in the product business by 32%, from 2,931 at the
end of March 2007 to 3,868 at the end of March 2008. Overall, on a
gross basis, we added 2,751 employees in our software and services
business in the financial year. Our strength in the KPO business stood
at 875. Overall, our staff strength at the end of March 2008 was
11,006.
Directors responsibility statement
As required under Section 217(2AA) of the Companies Act, 1956, the
Directors hereby confirm that:
i. In preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting
standards have been followed along with proper explanation relating to
material departures;
ii. The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable
and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the Company at the end of the financial year and of the profit of
the Company for that period;
iii. The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the
provisions of this Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and
for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
iv. The Directors have prepared the annual accounts on a going
concern basis.
Directors
Mr. Y M Kale, Ms. Tarjani Vakil and Mr. Charles Phillips, retire by
rotation at the ensuing Annual General Meeting and being eligible,
offer themselves for re-appointment. Mr. S P Bharucha holds office till
the conclusion of the ensuing Annual General Meeting and has not
offered himself,for re-appointment. The Board places on record its
appreciation for the contributions made by Mr. Bharucha as a member of
the Board and Audit Committee.
Pursuant to Section 260 of the Companies Act, 1956, Mr. Sergio
Giacoletto Roggio was appointed as an Additional Director of the
Company on October 26, 2007. He holds office up to the date of the
ensuing Annual General Meeting. The Company has received a Notice in
writing from a Member pursuant to Section 257 of the Companies Act,
1956, proposing the candidature of Mr. Sergio Giacoletto Roggio for the
office of Director.
The Board recommends to the shareholders the resolutions for
re-appointment of Mr. Y M Kale, Ms. Tarjani Vakil and Mr. Charles
Phillips as Directors of the Company. The Board also recommends the
appointment of Mr. Sergio Giacoletto Roggio as a Director of the
Company.
Brief resumes of the Directors proposed to be appointed/re-appointed,
nature of their expertise in specific functional areas and names of
companies in which they hold directorships and membership/ chairmanship
of Board Committees, as stipulated under Clause 49 of the Listing
Agreement entered into with the stock exchanges are provided in the
Report on Corporate Governance forming part of the Annual Report.
Auditors
M/s S. R. Batliboi & Associates, Chartered Accountants, the present
Statutory Auditors of the Company, hold office till the ensuing Annual
General Meeting and have confirmed their eligibility and willingness to
accept office, if re-appointed.
Auditors Report
With regard to the Auditors comment in the CARO report on delay in
payment of Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) and Stamp Duty, the following are
our responses:
i. During a review of FBT, the Company has been advised that the
expenses recovered from its customers which are not debited to its
Profit & Loss account are liable to FBT. Accordingly, the Company has
made a provision for FBT for the Financial Years 2005-06 and 2006-07
during the current financial year. The FBT payment is being made.
ii. During the internal control checks, the Company found that it had
inadvertently not paid stamp duty on a few share certificates at the
time of their issuance. The Company voluntarily informed the Collector
of Stamps of the same and paid the amount of stamp duty including
penalty thereof for the delayed period.
Conservation of energy, technology absorption and foreign exchange
earnings and outgo
The particulars as prescribed under Sub-Section (1)(e) of Section 217
of the Companies Act, 1956 read with Companies (Disclosure of
Particulars in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules, 1988, the
relevant data pertaining to conservation of energy, technology
absorption on foreign exchange earnings and outgo are furnished
hereunder:
a. Conservation of energy
The operations of the Company are not energy-intensive. The Company
however takes measures to reduce and optimize energy consumption by
using energy efficient computers, CFL bulbs and electronic
ballast-basea lighting. Further offices have been designed to maximize
the use of ambient lighting while conserving the air conditioning. The
expense on power in relation to income is nominal and under control.
b. Technology absorption
Since businesses and technologies are changing constantly, research and
development activities are of paramount importance. Your Company lays a
great emphasis on knowledge management and has an institutionalized
process for absorption of new technologies. Your Company continues its
focus on quality up-gradation of software development process and
software product enhancements.
c. Foreign exchange earnings and outgo:
(All amounts in millions of Indian Rupees)
Foreign Exchange Earnings* 17,370.60
Foreign Exchange Outgo 5,558.82
(Including capital goods and other expenditure)
Excluding reimbursement of traveling expenses and interest income
Prospects
The global financial services industry is a major user of technology
for transformation and growth. Your company has benefited from the
consolidation among banks and expansion of the operations to new
geographies in the past year. Rising customer expectations, a
sophisticated and demanding compliance regime and mounting costs of
operations are forcing financial institutions worldwide to
strategically review their IT assets and look for comprehensive modern
solutions to address their needs.
Institutions are also launching new and innovative offerings, e.g.
internet-based banks, that effectively leverage technology to create a
differentiated proposition to customers. The cycle of replacing core
transaction systems is gaining further strength and customers are
looking for strategic partners who can fulfill a larger canvass of
their requirements. Further, financial institutions are investing in
governance, risk and compliance solutions based on regional regulatory
mandates.
Your Company, together with Oracle, today offers the industrys most
comprehensive solution footprint based on the latest technology that
can meet the requirements of financial institutions globally.
Employee particulars
Information pursuant to Section 217(2A) of the Companies Act, 1956,
read with the Companies (Particulars of Employees) Rules, 1975 and
under Section 217 (1)(e) of the said Act, read with the Companies
(Disclosure of Particulars in the Report of Board of Directors) Rules,
1988 to the extent applicable are set out in the Annexure hereto.
Acknowledgements
Your Directors take this opportunity to thank the Companys customers,
shareholders, vendors and bankers for their continued support during
the year. Your Directors also wish to thank the Government of India and
its various agencies, Department of Electronics, the Software
Technology Parks-Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune, the Santacruz
Electronics Export Processing Zone, the Customs and Excise department,
Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of External
Affairs, Department of Telecommunication, the Reserve Bank of India,
the State Governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Tamil Nadu
and other local Government Bodies for their support and look forward to
their continued support in the future.
Your Directors also place on record their appreciation for the
excellent contribution made by all employees of i-flex through their
commitment, competence, co-operation and diligence with a view to
achieving consistent growth for the Company.
For and on behalf of the Board,
Rajesh Hukku
Chairman
July 21,2008
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