'Satyam still among top five IT firms in India'

New Delhi: Despite the unpleasant developments within the organization that led to a complete restructuring of top management, Satyam Computers could retain its position among India's top five software service providers, says a Senior official of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

"The employee strength of Satyam was around 50,000, even three months after its founder, B Ramalinga Raju, confessed to manipulating the books of accounts," the official told Business Standard, on condition of anonymity.

The official pointed out that Satyam continues to have strong revenues. The difference between its turnover and the next highest is around 10-15 per cent.

According to the available data, HCL Technologies, which was the fifth-largest IT firm before the scam-hit Satyam, recorded a revenue of Rs 4,860 crore in the July-December. So, 10-15 per cent less than HCL means Satyam's turnover is Rs 4,100-4,400 crore. At this turnover, Satyam's top line has dipped by only 1-7 percent compared with the year-ago period (July-December 2007).

Meanwhile, Tech Mahindra, which is looking to pick up stake in Satyam is a distant sixth, with a turnover of only Rs 2,297 crore in the six months ended December 2008.

After the government-nominated directors took control of the board of Satyam, two audit firms - KPMG and Deloitte - were asked to restate the accounts of the company. While the two audit firms are expected to take six months for the job, the companies that have evinced interest in picking up a stake in Satyam are being given restated accounts for six months ended December 2008.

However, the restated accounts are not available for January-March 2009, the critical period after Raju's confession and the government taking control of the company. The official said Satyam had performed well in January and February by operating without taking bank loans, adding that client churn rate was not abnormal.