Satyam revenues hit $1.3 billion

Satyam Computer, which is recovering from an accounting fraud by its founder B Ramalinga Raju, is said to have registered revenues of $1-1.3 billion in the last one year.

Almost a year ago, Tech Mahindra took over the once-fourth-largest IT major following the government’s intervention to protect the interests of the shareholders and employees of the company.

Though there is no official word as yet from the company, it is expected that the post-takeover financials would be announced some time in the second quarter of this financial year.

According to a source tracking developments in the company, the revenue run rate has been consistent at about $100 million per month. “But the company is most concerned was the employee attrition rather than the customer disengagement,” the source said.

While several customers, who had left the company immediately after Raju confessed to the fraud, are said to be in a mood to come back to the company, the employee attrition is believed to be having a significant impact on the execution of projects.

“The attrition is too high. Though the numbers are debatable and one can peg them at about 25%, the head count has dropped in the last one year. Even if the new management tries and brings back every client that was lost, there is no headroom available now in terms of HR,” the source said.

The headcount was about 53,000 before Raju told the fudged accounts story to the world. Currently it is about 25,000. “There is no doubt in saying that it’s a new team out there at the leadership level. But, the attrition is high at the project level too,” he said.

Meanwhile, the restatement accounts for five years starting FY05 is believed to be about 80% done. Though the company has been claiming that the restatement was getting delayed due to the CBI keeping some key documents in its control, a spokesman said that there was no plan of delaying it. In fact, the company had also filed a petition in a local court to release some documents from one of the rooms in the company’s headquarters, which is under the custody of the investigating authorities. “There has been a talk about the delay in restatement. It’s not correct and we deny it,” the spokesman said.