Zensar Technologies inches up on expansion plans in South Africa

Zensar Technologies rose 0.79% to Rs 229.70 at 11:21 IST on BSE after the company announced an agreement with Kapela Fund 1 and The Tomorrow Trust to set up a new Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment company in South Africa. The announcement was made after market hours on Wednesday, 11 September 2013. Meanwhile, the S and P BSE Sensex was down 160.55 points or 0.8% at 19,836.90. On BSE, 2,182 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 4,057 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 232 and a low of Rs 227.90 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 302.45 on 3 October 2012. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 205 on 7 August 2013. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 11 September 2013, gaining 3.12% compared with the Sensex's 6.43% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 7.75% as against Sensex's 4.46% rise. The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 43.65 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.
Zensar Technologies said that an agreement has been entered into with Kapela Fund 1 (Kapela) and The Tomorrow Trust to set up a new Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment company in South Africa wherein Zensar will be the majority shareholder of the company expanding Zensar's presence in South Africa with services in many areas to new customer segments. Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies said, "This new company reiterates our commitment to South Africa and its transformational agenda will help consolidate our leadership in the region. We have had an extraordinary successful decade of operations in South Africa and established leadership in providing technology solutions to the Banking, Insurance, Retail, Manufacturing and Mining sector. This venture will help us expand our footprint into Government contracts and also enhance our standing in the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) code of the Government.
" The South Africa program is part of Zensar's Centre of Excellence (COE) initiatives around the world focused on training local students to join the workforce. Kapela is a majority black owned business. Kapela targets mid-cap and large businesses with high growth potential. Tomorrow Trust provides a complete support program that enables South Africa's orphan and vulnerable children, who are in need of academic and psychosocial support to overcome shortfalls in the public education system, to reach self-sustainability. On a consolidated basis, Zensar Technologies' net profit surged 55.85% to Rs 60.94 crore on 4.55% growth in net sales to Rs 531.28 crore in Q1 June 2013 over Q4 March 2013. Zensar Technologies is among the top 13 software services providers from India.