Q4 Concall Updates
Business Overview:
- Protean eGov Technologies Limited is a pioneer in building digital public infrastructure for over 28 years.
- They have been a market leader in various sectors like e-governance, digital identity, and open digital ecosystems.
- The company’s business is classified into four pillars: e-governance platforms, digital identity, open digital ecosystems, and enterprise digitization.
- Sees themselves in a sweet spot due to the continued momentum in the Digital India story.
- Core businesses have strong growth prospects and plenty of room for growth.
- New lines of business like data stack, open digital ecosystems, cloud, and cybersecurity are being developed to complement and strengthen the existing business.
Financial Performance FY24:
- Revenues grew by 19%, led by double-digit growth across all four business verticals.
- Tax services business grew by 12% year-on-year.
- PAN card issuance crossed 5 crores compared to 4.1 crores in the previous year.
- Pension services reported a 14% growth with more than 1.37 crore accounts opened.
- Identity services showed a staggering 62% growth driven by rapid adoption of digital payments and increasing penetration of digital processing.
- Profit after tax was INR 97 crore, down 9% year-on-year due to investments in new business verticals and provisioning for sovereign debt.
- Consolidated revenue from operations stood at INR 882 crore, growing by 19% year-on-year.
- Adjusted EBITDA was INR 196 crore, reflecting 11% growth year-on-year.
- Balance sheet position remains strong with cash and cash equivalents of over INR 700 crore.
- Actively seeking inorganic growth opportunities to maximize returns to shareholders.
New Business Verticals and Developments:
- The company expanded into agri and education & skilling sectors under open digital ecosystems.
- Introduced core agri-stack and open network for education and skill transformation.
- Launched RISE with Protean, a multi-sector API marketplace, and an AI-powered cKYC solution.
- Engaged with multiple countries in Africa and Southeast Asia for international expansion.
- Developing new lines of business such as data stack, open digital ecosystems, cloud, and cybersecurity.
- Strong focus on the Digital India story and leveraging the India DPI framework for global opportunities.
Market Opportunities:
- Global markets are showing interest in the India DPI story.
- Interest in the India DPI framework by other countries to build their own DPIs.
Outlook:
- Looking forward to a good FY’25.
- Positive trend in all areas of the business.
Challenges and Risks:
- Provisioning for sovereign debt impacting profitability, but expected to recover over the next two years.
- Investments in new business verticals impacting margins in the short term, with a payback period of 18-24 months.
- No specific challenges or headwinds mentioned by the management.
- No mention of potential risks or concerns during the conference call.
Future Growth Expectations:
- Optimistic about future growth opportunities in digital India and pioneering transformative technology at a population scale.
- Expecting significant growth in revenues from new business verticals, international expansion, and cloud services.