This is the 13th post in our quarterly result update series for Q2FY21.
In this post, we’re sharing the latest updates of the stocks from our watchlist. Please don’t treat this as a buy recommendation. We find these businesses interesting and we may build position (or buy more of those that are already in our portfolio) in them in the future. The purpose of this post is to bring clarity to our understanding of the businesses we are tracking. We make our notes on the quarterly results and conference calls. Putting it up here makes it easier for us to refer them at a future date.
You can see the earlier updates here.
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Please click on the read more button for more details on each stock.
Aavas Financiers
Aavas Financiers is a fast-growing housing finance company in India. What sets it apart from the large housing finance players like HDFC, LIC Housing Finance & Repco is the space they cater to. The average ticket size of loans is less than 9 lacs against more than 14 lacs for others. Aavas caters to smaller towns where the population is less than 10 lacs. Throughout the financial crisis which started after the IL&FS default, Aavas has managed to sail through without any major hit on the books. Given the positive cues from the real estate sector in recent times, Aavas could be a big beneficiary going forward. However, stretched valuations may have factored in most of the positives. Nevertheless, it is a good business to track in the housing finance space.
Intellect Design Arena
Intellect Design Arena is a fast-rising disruptor in the world fintech space. The company’s products are well received all over the world which is evidenced in the diverse set of geographies and financial institutions that they cater to. The company has done well to garner good deal-wins in Q2 especially its 11th deal in the USA in the Liquidity space where it is fast establishing its dominance. The current quarter was good for the company with the EBITDA margin appreciation of 400 bps to 24%. The company is also seeing good traction and demand for its Intellect SEEC platform and is set to launch 5 new platforms in H2. It has also done well in the last year to migrate all of its APIs and make them all cloud compliant. It remains to be seen whether the company will be able to reach its revenue target and maintain its growth momentum as the management has proposed or whether there will be any other headwinds that will put pressure on the company. Nonetheless, given the acceptance of the company’s products in all kinds of financial institutions worldwide and its high customer retention rate and accelerated implementation time for its projects, Intellect Design Arena remains a stock to watch out for in the financial software industry.
L&T Infotech Ltd
L&T Infotech is a major in the digital solutions space in India. The company has done well to maintain its presence in many end industries like BFS, Insurance, Manufacturing, etc, and focus on cloud and data products to drive growth in the near future. It has had a good Q2 with deal pipeline rising 22% YoY with much key deal wins. The management has also been perceptive in identifying offshoring and creating new operating and sales models as a good source for improving performance and bring in cost savings. It remains to be seen how the company will be able to sustain its growth momentum and the increased competition in the tech space. Nonetheless, given the company’s ever-increasing roster of marquee clients and its focus on driving growth from cloud & data products, L&T Infotech is a pivotal technology stock to watch out for.
Persistent Systems
Persistent System is a fast-rising player in the digital transformation space. It has seen good growth in recent years and is looking to capitalize on this momentum and aim to reach revenues of $1 billion in the next 4 years. The company had a decent quarter with much large deal wins. It is also looking to increase its offshoring quantum which should yield cost savings in the long term. The company is also looking to introduce many cross-sell opportunities between its tech services and alliance verticals. It remains to be seen whether the company will be able to maintain its current momentum and whether its strategic acquisitions will prove to be as useful as projected. Nonetheless, given its fast rise in recent years and its big presence in North America & its various Alliances, Persistent Systems remains a key technology stock to watch out for.
Ramco Systems
Ramco is a fast-growing enterprise software player disrupting the market with its multi-tenanted cloud and mobile-based enterprise software in the area of HCM and Global Payroll, ERP, and M&E MRO for Aviation. Ramco Systems focuses on Innovation and Culture to differentiate itself in the marketplace. On the Innovation front, Ramco has been focusing on moving towards Cognitive and Robotic ERP. Some of the recent positive developments such as sustained cost control, increased acceptance of remote implementation/sales, and partnership with Oracle & Workday for its Payroll business has led to better than expected numbers for the company. It remains to be seen whether this earning momentum can carry on in the quarters to come. The price has shot up a lot in a short period of time making the current valuation look very expensive at the moment. Nevertheless, Ramco Systems is one stock to watch out for in the IT product space.
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