Currently, the company is undertaking a Rs 20 crore capex program being met entirely by internal accruals. In the recent past, it has taken up the marketing and distribution of world class software products from software giants like Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Forte SCO and Cognos. Analysts indicate that this business sector, coupled with consultancy assignments in the areas of ERP, Internet, Multimedia and Client/Server Software solutions, should help Aptech attain a targeted growth rate of 30 per cent in the next three years.

The company has posted decent results for the third quarter ended September 30, 1998. Income from training and education still constitutes around 85 per cent of the net income of Rs 92.03 crore, up 41 per cent fromRs 65.19 crore. It has to be noted that NIIT currently gathers around 40 per cent of its total revenues from the education business. The software division comprising of Asset International (11 per cent of net income) and Arena Multimedia (4 per cent of net income) have also reported substantial growth. In the first nine months of the financial year, Aptech has expanded its training network to over 1100 centres spread across 16 countries. All this has translated into a higher income from operations for the first nine months to Rs 212.03 crore from Rs 150.26 crore. Operating profits for Q3 have soared by a phenomenal 41 per cent to Rs 17.44 crore whilst for the nine month period have risen by 39 per cent to Rs 40.37 crore, thanks largely to increased revenues from its education business. All this has led to Aptech posting a bottom line of Rs 23.07 crore, an increase of 45 per cent from Rs 15.81 crore for the previous nine month period ended September 30, 1997.

The EPS for the nine month ended September 30,1998 on the enhanced equity capital owing to the allotment of bonus shares works out to Rs 27.66. But the ongoing expansions have resulted in the total expenditure rising by a whopping 41 per cent to Rs 171.66 crore for the period. This has stunted increase in operating margins which remained flat at around 18 per cent.

Aptech has started writing off its assets (computers) faster, resulting in the depreciation increasing to Rs 5.19 crore from Rs 3.47 crore for the nine month period. The other income as a percentage of PBT continues to remain at a low 2.5 per cent. The company's recent foray into software exports (offshore development and internet software) would prove to be lucrative in the future as it already has around Rs 40 crore orders-on-hand. In the future, analysts foresee that Aptech might go the NIIT way, the contribution from computer education to total revenues steadily decreasing.