3i Infotech to give 4-day work week to US staff

3i Infotech, the IT services firm which last month raised Rs317 crore via qualified institutional placement to cut debt, says it will focus on debt management and cost reduction during the current fiscal.

It would implement measures such as offshoring and 4-day work week for its US employees to cut costs.

The firm has Rs1,200 crore of debt on its books as of September end, of which cash debt component is Rs 148 crore, long-term rupee loan Rs188 crore, short-term rupee loan Rs120 crore, FCCBs Rs560 crore and a bank loan of Rs358 crore.

Amar Chintopanth, 3i’s chief financial officer, told DNA Money, “We will be very focused on debt management this fiscal. Thus cash outflow from the company will be limited.”

V Srinivasan, managing director and CEO, too, spoke about the firm’s debt management on a conference call with analysts after the firm’s second-quarter results. “Debt management is a priority for us. We went for only one acquisition in the last one year,” Srinivasan said.

The company is also initiating cost reduction vigorously by increasing offshoring, which involves moving work from onsite overseas to India and other low-cost destinations.
“Offshoring of work is going to help in cutting costs. Besides, we are introducing 4-day work week for US employees,” Srinivasan said. The company employs 1,000 people in the US.

In the September quarter, the company’s net profit went down to Rs57.2 crore from Rs71.9 crore in Q2 FY09. Revenues in the quarter grew 4.2% to Rs632.2 crore.