Mahindra Satyam BPO turns cash-positive

HYDERABAD: Mahindra Satyam BPO, part of Mahindra Satyam, has finally turned cash-positive and is registering 3-4 per cent margins over the last few months, according to company sources. It’s for the first time that the BPO arm, which was started as a 100 per cent subsidiary of Satyam in 2002, started making profits nearly after seven years of inception.

“The new management has undertaken several initiatives to mould it into a robust, customer-centric organisation. The positive developments in the BPO unit are reflective of the fundamentally sound decisions we have taken,” Vijay Rangineni - CEO, Mahindra Satyam BPO told Express. He added that the company took a strategic decision to manage costs better to maintain profitability.

Interestingly, the BPO unit, which currently has about 1,000 employees on rolls, achieved break-even nearly three months ago. “It’s no more a liability and has even bagged new customers including a contract from Tata Tele Services Ltd. Over the last few months, margins stood at about 3-4 per cent,” said a senior company official on conditions of anonymity.

Currently, Satyam BPO and Tech Mahindra BPO together have an associate base of 9,000 with a delivery footprint of nine locations globally.

Satyam BPO on a standalone basis has 22 customers and is offering services in both voice and non-voice business.  “We have a strong presence in areas such as artwork and pack management, geospatial services and manufacturing support services, in addition to our engagements with a Fortune 20 telecom major, to whom we offer customer service and technical support,” Vijay explained.

He further said, 92 per cent of the service level agreements are above committed levels.  

The company is also offering services for an Indian services company and is handling operations for their customer base in Andhra Pradesh including inbound calls related to information on services, new offers, usage-related challenges and other aspects.