Board of directors of NIIT have proposed a 1:2 bonus issue as the company became the first Indian information technology (IT) firm to have earned a net profit exceeding Rs 100 crore, NIIT president Vijay K Thadani said here.

While the net profit shot up by 60 per cent as against Rs 67.9 crore posted last year, the company's total revenue was up by 51 per cent over the same period last year (Rs 430.7 crore), he said.

A dividend of Rs 3.75 per share has also been recommended, Thadani added.

NIIT's operating margin during the period was 33.5 per cent against 32.1 per cent in 1996-97 thanks to the deployment of economic value-addition (EVA) based performance management system.

International revenues, which constitute 48 per cent of the total revenue of the company, grew by 74 per cent to touch Rs 312crore.

While software business recorded a revenue of Rs 271.2 crore (up 52 per cent), training business posted a growth of 40 per cent to cross Rs 256 crore. Multimedia business grew at 77 per cent to touch Rs 119.7 crore.

Software business of NIIT, comprising software development and educational multimedia software, constituted 60 per cent of the total global revenue.

As part of the company's ambitious strategy to become a global leader in its arena, NIIT was now planning to acquire a software company in the United States.

About 15 companies has been shortlisted for the proposed acquisition, which would be funded partly through internal resources, Thadani said.

An American Depository Receipts (ADR) issue was also on the cards to mop up funds for the acquisition, Thadani said adding that investment bankers had also been shortlisted for the purpose.

NIIT was ready to shell out up to $100 million for the acquisition that would help the company consolidate its presence in the US, he said.

On thesoftware and multimedia development, he said NIIT would focus its attention on electronic commerce, net-centric technologies and access to new markets.

An addition of 100 multimedia titles and new education centres every year, web-based training and an enhanced computer-based training library were also on the anvil.

With state governments now vying with each other to promote IT-related business, NIIT was hopeful of tapping a substantial share of business from government informatics in the future, Thadani added.