New Delhi, Feb 11
Black Box Limited, Essar’s technology arm, on Tuesday announced its results for third quarter (Q3) with highest-ever profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 56 crore which rose by 37 per cent year-on-year (YoY).
For 9M FY25, the PAT increased to Rs 144 crore with a growth of 49 per cent YoY, according to its stock exchange filing.
PAT margins improved by 120 bps YoY and stood at 3.7 per cent in Q3 whereas for 9M FY25, PAT margins rose by 130 bps YoY at 3.3 per cent.
In its filing, the company said that the strong operating performance has resulted in better profitability, despite higher exceptional items.
Revenue for Q3 stood at Rs 1,502 crore as compared to Rs 1,655 crore in the year-ago period (Q3 FY24).
For 9M FY25, revenue stood at Rs 4,422 crore compared to Rs 4,801 crore in same period last fiscal.
Revenue was predominantly affected due to subdued order book as a result of delayed decision making with some of our large customers coupled with company’s strategy to exit the tail customers.
However, the company’s pipeline for digital infrastructure, across industry verticals including hyperscalers, continues to grow, positioning Black Box for sustained growth and market leadership.
Order book stood at $465 million (approx Rs 3,900 crore) as of December 2024, the company said.
The leading digital infrastructure solution provider's EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 134 crore with a growth of 15 per cent YoY.
For 9M FY25, EBITDA grew by 25 per cent YoY and stood at Rs 384 crore.
EBITDA margins for Q3 improved by 130 basis points YoY to 8.9 per cent whereas for 9M FY25 period, it improved by 230 bps YoY and stood at 8.7 per cent.
The EBITDA margins improved due to better efficiencies and improved productivity, the firm said in its filing.
Black Boz further said that the company’s focus on continuous improvement and enhanced productivity measures led to significant growth YoY in both EBITDA and PAT.
“The rapid advancements in AI and the ongoing developments in this field are expected to drive a global surge in demand for AI tools across businesses,” Sanjeev Verma, Whole Time Director, Black Box said.
“This, in turn, will accelerate the need for robust digital infrastructure. As a result, hyperscalers are making significant capital investments in AI infrastructure and data centers, reinforcing our confidence in reaching our growth target of US$2 billion in revenue by FY29,” he added.
Deepak Kumar Bansal, Executive Director and Global Chief Financial Officer of Black Box, commented, “Our relentless focus on improving operating performance allowed us to achieve highest ever quarterly PAT. The company has, over the last few years, consistently generated strong ROE and ROCE, and remains committed to generating positive cash flows and better returns for the shareholders. Better efficiencies and productivity helped us in achieving stronger than estimated margins.”
Black Box is capitalising on the accelerating demand for digital infrastructure, particularly in the context of AI adoption. Recently, the company was awarded three large US sites by one of the world’s leading hyperscalers for new data center build-outs, along with orders worth Rs 250 crore.