Happiest Minds sees Gen AI driving growth, reports 29.5% revenue jump
Happiest Minds Technologies reported a 29.5 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue at ₹531 crore for the quarter ended December 2024, driven by strong deal momentum and strategic acquisitions, while profit after tax declined 16 per cent primarily due to acquisition-related charges.
The company’s utilisation rate improved to 78 per cent from 76.3 per cent. “Our target or goal is to get this to around 80-81 per cent, between 79 to 81 per cent… that would be an optimal number where we would have enough of a pool available to cater to business,” said Joseph Anantharaju, Executive Vice-Chairman.
On its verticalisation strategy, Anantharaju said selection was based on “capabilities that we had already built in some of these verticals… and the opportunity in that vertical for both starting digital initiatives and in other cases where you could do some more cutting edge work.”
The company secured key wins this quarter, partnering with a global tech major for core banking technology, a US logistics tech firm for Gen AI-powered dashboards, and a global EV OEM for data platform development. Its client base grew to 278 with seven new additions.
The EBITDA grew 11.1 per cent year-on-year to ₹11,686 lakhs, representing 21.1 per cent of total income, while operating revenues in US dollars stood at $62.7 million, showing a 27 per cent year-on-year growth.
“We are collaborating with our clients to explore opportunities for leveraging generative AI to enhance business value, efficiency, and productivity,” said Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman. “The adoption of this promising technology has picked up speed with our customers embarking into enterprise-wide adoption.”
The company currently has about 15 generative AI projects in proof-of-concept stage across various sectors, including banking, logistics, and healthcare. “We should see more conversion into larger projects into production implementations,” said Anantharaju, noting that some proof-of-concept customers have already signed larger long-term deals.
In the banking sector, Anantharaju highlighted varying technology adoption patterns across regions. While US banks lead in generative AI investments, Indian private sector banks have made progress in digitising banking experiences, with public sector banks in early stages of digital transformation.
Addressing the decline in profit after tax, Venkatraman Narayanan, MD & CFO explained it was primarily due to acquisition-related non-cash charges. “Cash earnings per share, a metric that reflects health of the business, has shown 12.6 per cent growth year-over-year,” he added.
The company focuses on six industry verticals, including healthcare sub-segments such as providers, pharma, payers, Medtech, and research institutions. It expects growth from its Gen AI Business Unit and industry verticalisation in the coming quarters.
The shares of Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd closed at ₹701 today, down by ₹7.50 or 1.06 per cent on the NSE.
