MPS Ltd

Concall

Sukhwant Singh on Content Soln
In the post-pandemic period, the Content Solutions business of the company experienced strong momentum in Q4 and throughout FY ’23. The business demonstrated significant operating leverage, resulting in a 34% growth in PBT for the fiscal year and a 47% growth in Q4. The growth was primarily driven by the scholarly line of business.

The implementation of the Going Gestalt growth strategy yielded positive results, with the revised go-to-market strategy enabling the exploration of growth synergies between scholarly content, platforms, educational content, and e-learning. Cross-selling and upselling efforts, with a focus on STAR accounts, led to robust growth in the top 10 content solution customers and double-digit growth in three of the top 10 accounts.

The company successfully launched new capabilities, including a peer review solution that garnered a significant multiyear win with a prestigious new customer in Q4 of FY ’23. Substantial investments were made in AI/ML-based image and research integrity solutions, which generated noteworthy demand from clients.

Anthony Alves on Platform Soln
In Q4 of FY ’23, the Platforms business of the company witnessed a 2.4% revenue growth compared to the same period in FY ’22. This growth marked a significant milestone in the third year of the company’s ownership of HighWire, indicating a strong foundation for FY ’24 and beyond.

Several factors contribute to the transition of the Platform business into a healthy and growing phase. Firstly, the company’s mission has shifted from support and delivery to product development, encompassing new product launches, active product roadmaps, and upgrades.

Additionally, the new customer acquisition strategy, which involves bundling products and services and adopting a price warrior approach, has gained traction and facilitated the development of a new customer base.

The feedback from the industry and scholarly community has been highly encouraging, particularly due to the company’s position as an independent choice following the acquisition of two major competitors by publishers.

Rajesh Jumani on e-Learning
The eLearning business segment has become the company’s second-largest, accounting for 25% of total revenue in FY ’23 with INR127 crores. Profitability in this segment more than doubled throughout the financial year, and there was a 50% improvement in Q4. All four entities, including the Swiss entity, showed positive performance, recovering from the pandemic-related decline.

The acquisition of EI Design validated the company’s acquisition strategy of acquiring growing assets at compelling valuations. Besides strong financial indicators and significant margin improvements, operational indicators were also highly positive. The company has achieved market-leading status in service delivery and quality in the eLearning practice, reflected in high customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores.

The soft launch of Magineu, the Experience Center business, was highly successful, with a notable project completed at India Energy Week. The business unit exceeded expectations in its first year and demonstrated better margins than the eLearning segment. The company aims to scale Magineu as a substantial business segment for marketing communications by FY ’25.