Earnings Outlook
Hi-tech, BFSI units to boost Persistent's Q2 PAT, revenue
This story was originally published at 16:06 IST on 11 October 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025
By Arya S. Biju
MUMBAI – Strong growth in the hi-tech and the banking, financial services and insurance verticals is expected to drive Persistent Systems Ltd.'s top line for the September quarter. The mid-cap technology player is expected to report a sequential improvement in its margin led by revenue growth, operating efficiencies, and deferred wage hikes during the quarter, according to brokerages.
The technology services company's consolidated net profit for the latest quarter is expected to rise a little over 4% on quarter and over 36% on year to INR 4.44 billion, according to the average of estimates from 15 brokerages. The company's consolidated net sales for the quarter are expected to rise around 6% on quarter and nearly 22% on year to INR 35.24 billion, according to the average of estimates.
This will mark the 26th consecutive quarter of sequential growth in the company's top line and fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth in the bottom line. However, the estimated low-single digit sequential rise in the company's bottom line is expected to be the slowest in five quarters.
Equirus Securities Pvt. Ltd. has the highest estimates for the company's consolidated net profit and net sales at INR 4.57 billion and INR 35.51 billion, respectively. HSBC Global Research, on the other hand, has the lowest estimates of INR 4.23 billion and INR 34.50 billion for the company's net profit and net sales, respectively.
In dollar terms, the company is expected to report a consolidated revenue of $403.27 million, according to an average of estimates from 14 brokerages. This would mean a rise of 3.5% from the $389.70 million revenue reported in the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 17% from the $345.5 million reported in the year-ago quarter. In constant currency terms, the company is expected to report a 2.4-4.0% rise in its sales, estimates from nine brokerages showed.
The company's top line growth for the quarter is expected to be led by a continued growth in its software, hi-tech and emerging industries and banking, financial services and insurance verticals, according to analysts. The revenue from the company's healthcare and life sciences segment, on the other hand, is expected to remain largely stable from the previous quarter.
The company's earnings before interest and tax margin for the quarter is expected to improve 10-60 basis points sequentially, estimates from 11 brokerages showed. "With wage hikes deferred by a quarter and ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) costs expected to remain stable in the near term, some room exists for margin expansion through SG&A (Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses) leverage," Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in an earnings preview note. ICICI Securities Ltd. expects the company's EBIT margin to improve 30 bps on quarter driven by "revenue growth leverage, operating levers of pricing & right shoring, rupee depreciation, and rollover of wage hikes to Q3."
The company will announce its September quarter earnings Tuesday. Investors will watch out for the company management's commentary on recovery in discretionary spending and the pace of decision making by clients amid uncertainty over US tariffs and the macro environment. Management commentary on future demand across verticals will also be closely monitored by the Street.
"We will see if the issue with the top customer in the healthcare vertical has been resolved and deal ramp up has begun," Nirmal Bang Equities said. The impact of generative artificial intelligence-driven automation on the company's volume of work and pricing will also be monitored, analysts said.
Management comments on the company's dependence on H-1B visas given the recent hike in the fee for such visas will be closely watched by investors, as also updates on wage hikes. Any changes to the FY26 growth and margin outlook and roadmap towards achieving $2 billion revenue by FY27 and $5 billion revenue by FY31 will also be monitored. Updates on the company's deal pipeline and large deals in progress will also be watched.
Of the 19 research reports on the company available with Informist, 11 have a 'buy' or equivalent rating on the stock with an average target price of INR 6,159. Of the remaining eight, five have a 'hold' or equivalent rating with an average target price of INR 5,598 and three have a 'sell' or equivalent rating with target prices of INR 4,450-INR 5,989.
Friday, shares of the company ended marginally higher at INR 5,357.70 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock has fallen over 4% since the announcement of the June quarter earnings on Jul. 23.
For the June quarter, Persistent Systems had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 3.96 billion, up 6.1% on quarter and slightly above analysts' estimate of INR 3.95 billion. Its consolidated sales had risen 5.9% on quarter to INR 32.42 billion, also above the Street's view of INR 32.27 billion by a slight margin.
The following are the Jul-Sept earnings estimates for Persistent Systems from 14 brokerages in descending order of the estimate of net profit in INR million:
| Brokerage | Net Sales | Net Profit | Revenue (mln $) | ?IT margin |
| Equirus Securities Pvt Ltd | 35,513 | 4,566 | 403 | 16 |
| JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt Ltd | 35,306 | 4,552 | 404 | -- |
| Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd | 35,300 | 4,500 | 404.8 | 15.8 |
| Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd | 35,259 | 4,480 | 404 | 15.7 |
| ICICI Securities Ltd | 35,465 | 4,469 | 403 | 15.8 |
| Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd | 35,167 | 4,458 | -- | -- |
| Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd | 35,475 | 4,436 | 405 | -- |
| Kotak Institutional Equities | 35,438 | 4,427 | 405 | 15.8 |
| Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt Ltd | 35,149 | 4,425 | 399 | 16 |
| Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd | 35,199 | 4,424 | 404 | 15.6 |
| Nomura Equity Research | 35,450 | 4,413 | 406 | 15.6 |
| HDFC Securities Ltd | 35,220 | 4,400 | 404 | 16.1 |
| Indsec Securities and Finance Ltd | 35,100 | 4,400 | 400 | 15.8 |
| Elara Securities (India) Pvt Ltd | 35,041 | 4,342 | 401 | -- |
| HSBC Global Research | 34,503 | 4,234 | 403 | 15.8 |
| Average | 35,239.00 | 4,435.07 | 403.27 | -- |
End
US$1 = INR 88.68
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
