Pure-play BPO player FirstSource announced its Q1 2009 financial results recording a revenue growth of 18.8 % at Rs 484.5 crore while operating EBIT was up 22.9% at Rs 46.9 crore. When compared on a sequential basis, the revenue growth is seen at 2.6 % while the operating EBIT is seen at 30.5 %. Net profit was however down 7 % on a sequential basis at Rs 38 crore. The company downplayed the drop as it said that the March quarter had unusual gain due to income from gain on FCCB buyback.  FirstSource had loss of Rs 50 crore in the corresponding quarter in 2008.

The company attributed the improvement in performance to overcoming payment delays from the Healthcare vertical and larger approval of high dollar claims. Additionally the Telecom and Media division also saw increased contribution due to improvement in productivity and efficiencies.

Ananda Mukerji, MD & CEO said, “It has been a strong quarter from both a growth and margins perspective. While there is greater stability in the business environment, we are still cautious about immediate growth prospects. Our value proposition continues to be very strong and while we anticipate some degree of volatility in the quarters ahead, overall, in FY10 we expect to see positive growth and improvement in margins.”

Carl Saldanha, Global CFO said, “Q1 performance has exceeded our expectations largely due to improved performance of our BFSI Collections business and the Healthcare provider business. We continue to focus on overall margin improvements across all our verticals.”