Mindtree

Guidance of 20%+ EBITDA Margin for FY23E – Mindtree

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Wednesday, the Nifty bounced back and closed at 17,137 (+1.5%) with support from recovery in the beaten-down HDFC stocks and the IT sector. AUTO (+2.2%), OIL & GAS (+1.9%), and IT (+1.2%) were the top sectoral gainers. MEDIA (-0.5%), METAL (-0.3%), and PSU BANK (-0.2%) were the top losing sectors.

The top losers were BAJAJFINANCE (-2.9%), BAJAJFINSV (-1.3%), and ICICIBANK (-1.3%) while BPCL(+4.2%), TATAMOTORS (+3.8%), and SHREECEM (+3.7%) were the top gainers.

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Debashis Chatterjee, MD & CEO, Mindtree with CNBC-TV18 on 19th April 2022:

  • When asked about the merger of Mindtree and L&T Infotech, the CEO stated that it is speculation at this point and will not be able to comment on it. There were opportunities where both the companies have worked together in the past on specific deals.
  • If the management change happens, some leverages can be gained by working together. It will be able to extract synergies if the merger happens as the portfolio of both entities is complementary to each other.
  • The demand environment is robust as the need for getting future-ready has never been more than what it is today. To become future-ready, one has to do it with digital transformation.
  • There is a change in deal patterns as the deal cycles tend to be more iterative and of shorter spends. But over some time, it tends to become a large engagement with the particular client.
  • The deals 2 years ago were more of manage services deals which were annuity deals for 3-4 years and would give revenue visibility for a longer period. Currently, some of these deals are getting converted into digital transformation deals which are used by the clients to maximize their revenue stream. These deals are iterative deals that are of shorter period, but over some time when these short deals are added, it does become large.
  • Mindtree has adopted the strategy where it leverages its consulting-led capabilities, creates outcome-based opportunities, and works with clients as their transformation partners for a long period.
  • The CEO commented to look at the Total Contract Value (TCV) on annual basis. TCV for FY22 is up by 17% YoY at USD 1.6 bn and the TCV annual growth is on track.
  • It maintains the EBITDA Margin guidance of 20%+ for FY23E.
  • CEO commented that margin is a factor of many levers and disciplined execution. Two years back, Mindtree had spent a lot of time putting up proper processes to ensure margin management, use the levers consistently, and get a predictable model.
  • The objective of the company is sustainable margins and to re-invest the excess profit into the business.
  • The mantra of the organization is profitable growth for which margins are equally important.
  • Wage hikes are expected from time to time and will impact the margins by 100-200 bps. But, this is already baked in the margin guidance given by the company.

Asset Multiplier Comments

  • With Mindtree’s strong capabilities in all layers of digital i.e. experience, data, and back-end/core systems, it is well-positioned to become a digital transformation partner and participate in Clients’ revenue growth.
  • Looking at the deal wins momentum, focus on garnering multi-year engagements and scaling up top accounts would aid in sales traction moving forward.

 Consensus Estimate (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Mindtree was ₹ 3,668/- as of 20-April-2022. It traded at 32x/27x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹115/134 for FY23E/FY24E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 4,381/- implies a PE multiple of 33x on the FY24E EPS estimate of ₹ 134/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

 

The attrition situation won’t change for the next few quarters – Mindtree

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Monday, Nifty closed higher at 18,308 (+0.3%). AUTO (+2.1%), REALTY (+1.3%), and CONSUMER DURABLES (+0.5%) were the top gainers while HEALTHCARE (-0.9%), PHARMA (-0.7%), and BANK (-0.4%) were top losing sectors.

The top losers were HCLTECH (-5.7%), HDFCBANK (-1.4%), and CIPLA (-1.3%) while HEROMOTOCO (+5.1%), GRASIM (+3.5%), and ONGC (+3.2%) were the top gainers.

 Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Debashis Chatterjee, Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer, Mindtree with Economic Times on 14th January 2021:

  • A lot of transformation deals are happening as the clients are looking at maximising their revenues. Clients are also looking at cost optimisation and there is a lot of effort in terms of workplace modernisation, and workforce transformation for every client.
  • Most of the deals are digital and cloud led which are short cycle deals. The short cycle deals over some time develop into larger strategic relationships.
  • From an overall TCV standpoint, Mindtree has YTD USD 1.2 bn deal wins, which is 21% up YoY. The pipeline is robust and the company is confident of the deals to flow through in the coming quarters.
  • The deal pipeline is a mix of both large and transformation deals. At present, the short cycle deals are more and the company expects it to eventually get translated into multiyear initiatives.
  • The company is focused on taking the margins to healthy levels. It is satisfied with a 20% EBITDA margin on yearly basis. It has put processes to track the margins and various levers which are working well for the company.
  • The travel transport and hospitality portfolio has reached the pre-pandemic levels (USD 200 mn run rate in 3QFY22).
  • The company has diversified its travel transport and hospitality portfolio beyond airlines and hospitality. It has ventured into food and beverage, surface transformation, and cruise liners making the portfolio more resilient to the virus. The company expects this portfolio to get less impacted by the omicron variant.
  • Mindtree has been looking at Merger and Acquisition (M&A) and will be open to looking at inorganic M&As as well. It has done one inorganic in the past and is seeing good results.
  • At least for the next couple of quarters, Mr. Chatterjee doesn’t think the attrition scenario to change. The management has organized themselves to deal with and manage the talent in a more nimble and agile manner.

Asset Multiplier Comments

  • We think Mindtree has a resilient business model and has a proven track record of strong execution capabilities. The company’s plan to hire at least 1,500 freshers per quarter displays management’s confidence in winning deals going ahead.
  • We believe robust deal wins, sustainable growth, focus on multiyear engagements and margin expansion will aid topline and bottom-line growth.

Consensus Estimate (Source: market screener website)

  •  The closing price of Mindtree was ₹ 4,510/- as of 17-January-2022. It traded at 47x/ 41x/ 36x the consensus earnings estimates of ₹ 96/ 111/ 128 for FY22E/FY23E/FY24E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 4,570/- implies a P/E Multiple of 36x on FY24E EPS estimate of ₹ 128/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

 

 

Double-Digit revenue growth expected in FY22 – Mindtree

Update on Indian Equity Market:

On Thursday, markets ended higher with Nifty closing 70 points to close at 15,924. HCLTECH (+5.0%), L&T (+3.7%), WIPRO (+3.0%) were the top gainers on the index while ONGC (-3.0%), EICHERMOT (-1.3%) and BHARTIARTL (-0.9%) were the top losers for the day. Among the sectoral indices,  REALTY (+4.2%), IT (+1.3%), and BANK (+0.7%) were top gainers, while AUTO (-0.4%), MEDIA (-0.4%), and PSUBANK (-0.3%) were the losers.

Excerpts of an interview with Debashis Chatterjee, MD, and CEO of Mindtree on CNBCTV18 dated 14th July 2021:

  • Robust Deal Pipeline and order book growth was seen and more renewals led to an increase in the scope of the value of the deals and the new deal wins have been characterised by multi-year long-term deals and not just project-based deals.
  • The company’s strategy of 4x4x4 across 4 of its major service lines is helping the company cross-sell and upsell a lot of the services in the existing deals in its 4 service lines of Customer Service, Data Analytics, Cloud Management, and Enterprise IT.
  • The company has guided for double-digit revenue growth of around 20% and improved EBIT margins in FY22. It hopes to achieve this as a result of the foundational changes in cost efficiencies it has done over the last 2-3 years.
  • Quarter specific and client specific headwinds may occur on the margins front. With the opening up of client businesses and increase in revenue growth aided discretionary spending, the company expects a topline growth as well.
  • The company is rolling a subsequent wage hike in Q2FY22 to deal with high levels of attrition currently faced by the industry. The company plans to undertake significant outreach programs with its personnel to manage attrition.
  • BFSI is seeing significant revival and the company expects its client base and deal wins to grow over the next few quarters after covid-induced consolidations. As far as the Travel Sector is concerned the effects of the pandemic are still looming. Full recovery may take some quarters, new contactless business models may help the company with new deal wins as the clients reimagine their business models.

Asset Multiplier Comments:

  • All Indian IT companies are enjoying the tailwinds arising out of the pandemic. Mindtree is well poised to grow further due to growth in upcoming technologies.
  • The Company is making efforts to deal with the issue of rising attrition. The rising attrition is a result of a talent war in the Indian IT Industry due to the low supply of skilled professionals.

Consensus Estimates (Source: market screener website): 

  • The closing price of Mindtree was ₹ 2,732/- as of 15-July-2021.  It traded at 33x/30x/25x the EPS estimate of ₹ 84/ ₹ 92/ ₹ 108 for FY22E/23E/24E respectively.
  • The consensus price target is ₹ 2,830/- which trades at 26x the EPS estimate for FY24E of ₹ 108/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

Expect 20 percent plus EBITDA margins to continue – Mindtree

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

The Indian Equity market indices gained after the Indian government announced that all citizens over the age of 18 can have Covid-19 vaccinations from May 1.  The markets pared morning gains as investors were worried due to the increasing Covid-19 cases in the second wave. Nifty 50 ended at 14,296 (-0.4%).  Among the stocks, DRREDDY (+3.6%), BAJAJFINSV (+3.5%), and HDFCLIFE (+3.0%) ended with gains while ULTRACEMCO (-4.9%), HCLTECH (-3.4%), and HDFC (-3.3%) led the losers. Among the sectoral indices, MEDIA (+3.0%), PHARMA (+1.3%), and AUTO (+1.0%) led the gainers while IT (-1.4%), FMCG (-0.6%), and FINANCIAL SERVICES (-0.6%) led the losers.

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Debashis Chatterjee, MD & CEO, Mindtree aired on CNBC TV-18 on 19th April 2021:

  • Mindtree reported 4QFY21 quarterly results, with the consolidated net profit reporting a ~54% YoY growth to Rs 3,174 mn due to strong operational efficiency.
  • Two successive quarters of 5percent plus growth instills confidence in the Company in terms of momentum generated by deal closures.
  • The order book stood at USD 1.4 bn as of 31-March-21. The order book was 12% more than the previous year. The pipeline has never been stronger and with the changes done in terms of the 4*4*4 strategy- the execution is going well.
  • They have focused on some of the strategic accounts and focusing on cross-selling and up-selling as a part of their strategy. Considering these factors, they remain confident of delivering double-digit growth in FY22E and maintaining the margins at 20 percent plus.
  • They have added net 1600 employees in 4QFY21. Owing to a strong pipeline and a high demand, Mr. Chatterjee expects hiring to be robust in the next couple of quarters.
  • The war for talent has aggravated in the last couple of quarters. With a focus on cross-skilling of employees, they have been able to contain the attrition.
  • There has been a delay in BFSI deal closures, which are expected to happen in 1QFY22. Given the interest rate regimes, there have been some in-sourcing trends in the banking clients. Post the deal closures in 1QFY22, there is some recovery expected in the BFSI vertical.

Asset Multiplier Comments

  • The commentary on deal signings, consistent margin improvement, and the ability to sustain these improved margins are key positives for the Company.
  • The pandemic accelerated clients’ interest in Data, Cloud migration, and other disruptive technologies, across IT services companies. This is expected to benefit IT services companies for the foreseeable future.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of MINDTREE was ₹ 2,033/- as of 20-April-2021. It traded at 25x/ 24x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 80.1/ 86.1 per share for FY22E/FY23E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 1,857 implies a PE multiple of 22x on FY23E EPS of ₹ 86.1/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”