Saksoft Q1FY27: PAT down 9% YoY on tax jump, flat revenue trails 14-15% guidance

Saksoft's consolidated revenue was Rs.248.62 Cr for Q1 FY27, essentially flat both YoY (-0.2% vs Rs.249.07 Cr) and QoQ (-0.1% vs Rs.248.85 Cr). Consolidated PAT fell to Rs.29.29 Cr, down 9.4% YoY (Rs.32.35 Cr) and 18.5% QoQ (Rs.35.93 Cr); EPS was Rs.2.28 against Rs.2.54 a year ago and Rs.2.81 last quarter.

The margin story is not an operating one: OPM (segment EBITDA/revenue) held at 18.26%, versus 18.40% a year ago and 18.19% last quarter — squarely within, even a touch above, management's stated 17-18% EBITDA band. PBT was near-flat YoY at Rs.42.58 Cr (-1.1%) and down 10.0% QoQ. What compressed NPM to 11.78% from 12.82% YoY (14.02% QoQ) was the tax line: the effective tax rate jumped to 31.2% this quarter from 24.8% a year ago and 24.1% last quarter. No exceptional items appear in this quarter's figures (unlike Q4FY26, which absorbed a Rs.4.86 Cr one-off labour-code provision), so both YoY comparisons are on a clean underlying basis with no adjustment needed.

The stock went into the print at ₹167.3, down 1% over the past month of trading.

Standalone tells a materially different story: standalone revenue fell 3.1% YoY to Rs.121.58 Cr while standalone PAT rose 34.1% YoY to Rs.25.26 Cr — the gain traces entirely to other income surging to Rs.12.91 Cr from Rs.2.00 Cr (likely intercompany dividend income), not operations. Given the >3% divergence from consolidated's -9.4% PAT, readers should anchor on the consolidated (primary) numbers. On guidance: management's May 2026 concall flagged AI-driven customer decision-delays and set a conservative 14-15% FY27 growth marker against an ambitious 30% aspiration; this quarter's flat YoY topline falls short even of that lowered bar, though it is only one of four quarters. Segment data shows why: the two largest verticals, BFS (Rs.73.48 Cr, -5.0% YoY) and Emerging Vertical (Rs.111.78 Cr, -5.3% YoY), both contracted, while Logistics (Rs.39.83 Cr, +16.9%) and Commerce (Rs.23.54 Cr, +20.1%) grew — a mix shift rather than broad-based softness. No formal sell-side estimates or previews for this specific quarter were found (Saksoft carries limited analyst coverage), so vsStreet is unknown; no management press release accompanied this filing to compare framing against. The quarter's other developments — a BRSR filing, annual report, AGM held the same day, and a new UK Chief Growth Officer hire — are administrative and don't bear on the print.