Hyderabad: According to the audited results for the third quarter of the current fiscal ending December 31, 2003. Satyam Computer Services' (NYSE:SAY) total income for the quarter (under Indian GAAP) increased to Rs 691.15 crore (US $ 151.90 mn.) up from Rs 521.50 crore (US $ 108.06 mn.), a rise of 32.53 per cent. Revenues from software alone were Rs 662.70 crore (US$145.65 mn.), against Rs 522.26 crore (US $ 108.22 mn.) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, a 26.89 per cent increase.

Satyam has significantly surpassed its guidance of Rs 620 crore to Rs 630 crore issued at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The sequential revenue growth of 10.73 per cent in Q3 is grew on the back of strong volume growth and price stability.

Net Profit:
Net profit at Rs 145.87 crore (US $ 32.06 mn.) shows a 24.95 per cent increase over Q3 of the previous year.

EPS:
EPS for the third quarter at Rs 4.63 on par value of Rs2 per share is well above the Rs 4.05 to Rs 4.15 range forecast earlier.

Business Outlook:

Quarterly Guidance:
The outlook for the quarter ending March 31, 2004, indicates Income from software services to be between Rs 690 crore and Rs 700 crore and EPS for the quarter to be between Rs 4.58 and Rs 4.65.

Annual Guidance:
The annual guidance for income from software services has once again been revised upwards to 31 per cent in US $ terms, up from 26 per cent to 28 per cent indicated at the end of the second quarter. This translates into expected software revenues between Rs 2511 crore and Rs 2,521 crore as against Rs 2,416 crore to Rs 2,454 crore forecast at the end of Q2. The revised outlook is based on an exchange rate of Rs 45.45 / US $.

EPS for the fiscal is expected to be between Rs 17.77 and Rs 17.84, including Rs 0.44 per share due to profit on sale of our stake in Sify Ltd. This reflects an increase from the earlier guidance of Rs 16.69 to Rs 16.95 indicated at the end of Q2.

Commenting on the results, Satyam Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju said,"By maintaining the momentum of the last quarter, Satyam added 29 new Customers, including 6 Fortune 500 corporations. It is significant to mention that 75% of our new Customer wins last quarter, came in competition with large Indian players and global IT services companies with enhanced offshore capabilities. Today, there are specific areas in the enterprise space where we have been acknowledged to have leadership position".

During the quarter, Satyam added 1087 employees making it the highest quarterly increase in the past three years. This takes its manpower strength to over 12,300.