WNS Announces Fiscal 2025 First Quarter Earnings, Revises Full Year Guidance
WNS (NYSE: WNS) reported fiscal 2025 Q1 results with revenue of $323.1 million, down 1.0% year-over-year. Profit was $28.9 million with diluted EPS of $0.61. Key highlights:
- Revenue less repair payments: $312.4 million, down 1.6% YoY
- Adjusted Net Income: $44.0 million
- Adjusted diluted EPS: $0.93
- Added 8 new clients, expanded 36 existing relationships
- Global headcount: 60,513
WNS updated FY2025 guidance:
- Revenue less repair payments: $1,290-$1,354 million
- Adjusted Net Income: $203-$215 million
- Adjusted diluted EPS: $4.42-$4.68
The company noted robust demand for digital transformation and cost reduction initiatives, offset by volume declines in travel and reduced project work.
- Added 8 new clients and expanded 36 existing relationships
- Strong demand for digital transformation and cost reduction initiatives
- Maintained healthy cash position of $301.5 million
- Repurchased 1.64 million shares, demonstrating confidence in business
- Revenue decreased 1.0% year-over-year to $323.1 million
- Profit declined to $28.9 million from $32.0 million in Q1 last year
- Adjusted Net Income fell to $44.0 million from $51.1 million in Q1 last year
- Volume reductions with certain clients, particularly in travel vertical
- Reduced demand for project-based work
Insights
WNS Holdings Limited reported mixed results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The most significant takeaway is the 1.0% decline in revenue compared to the previous year and a 4.1% sequential decline. Similarly, the profit margin experienced a noticeable shift, with
The transition to reporting under US GAAP could lead to some discrepancies in comparing figures with past performance, introducing an element of short-term uncertainty. The company’s strategy to repurchase shares, totaling
Short-term, investors might be cautious due to the declining revenue figures and increasing operational expenses. However, the company’s strong cash position of
Days sales outstanding (DSO) increased to 36 days, indicating slower collection of receivables, which could be a point to watch for liquidity management.
Key takeaway: Investors should monitor ongoing cost management efforts, the impact of AI and GenAI investments and how the company navigates client volume reductions and project-based work demand. The long-term outlook hinges greatly on these strategic initiatives.
WNS Holdings' performance in Q1 fiscal 2025 shows a company experiencing some turbulence while maintaining a forward-looking growth strategy. Adding 8 new clients and expanding 36 existing relationships indicates an underlying demand for their BPM services, despite the broader challenges.
The updated guidance for revenue less repair payments to be between
The market will be particularly interested in the performance of their travel vertical, which appears to be facing significant headwinds. This segment's recovery is essential for a more solid bullish outlook.
Strategic investments in AI and technology are exciting but come with their own set of risks and require substantial upfront capital. These investments are important for long-term growth but may not yield immediate returns, making this a mid-to-long-term play for investors.
Key takeaway: For retail investors, the guidance update provides a balanced view of modest growth. Monitoring the travel vertical's recovery and the impact of strategic investments in technology will be pivotal.
Highlights – Fiscal 2025 First Quarter: |
GAAP Financials
Non-GAAP Financial Measures*
Other Metrics
|
As announced previously, beginning this quarter WNS transitioned from reporting to the SEC on the forms available to foreign private issuers and preparing its financial statements in accordance with IFRS to voluntarily reporting on US domestic issuer forms and preparing its financial statements in accordance with US GAAP. On July 9, 2024, WNS furnished a report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing a supplementary financial information package comprising its unaudited quarterly financial results for each of the quarters in fiscal 2024 and for full year fiscal 2024 and 2023 prepared in accordance with US GAAP. The supplementary financial information package sets forth the key impact on our quarterly financial statements for each of the quarters in fiscal 2024 and for full year fiscal 2024 and 2023 as a result of our transition to US GAAP. The comparative financial information in this release for the previous fiscal periods are also under US GAAP.
Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures discussed below to our GAAP operating results are included at the end of this release. See also “About Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
Revenue in the first quarter was
Profit in the fiscal first quarter was
Adjusted net income (ANI)* in Q1 was
From a balance sheet perspective, WNS ended Q1 with
“Our first quarter results were largely in line with company expectations and highlight some of the opportunities and challenges in our business today. Demand for digitally-led business transformation and cost reduction continues to be robust, including larger deals and a strengthening pipeline. At the same time, we continue to see headwinds from declining client volumes, particularly in the travel vertical, and reduced demand for project-based work,” said Keshav Murugesh, WNS’ Chief Executive Officer. “WNS is confident that our strategic growth initiatives are well underway, and that successful execution through the remainder of this year will position the company well entering fiscal 2026. In addition, we remain committed to investing ahead of the curve in technology-enabled offerings leveraging AI and GenAI, improving our access to capital, and opportunistically repurchasing stock.”
Fiscal 2025 Guidance
WNS is updating guidance for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, as follows:
-
Revenue less repair payments* is expected to be between
and$1,290 million , up from$1,354 million in fiscal 2024. Guidance assumes an average GBP to USD exchange rate of 1.28 for the remainder of fiscal 2025.$1,284.3 million -
ANI* is expected to range between
and$203 million versus$215 million in fiscal 2024. Guidance assumes an average USD to INR exchange rate of 83.4 for the remainder of fiscal 2025.$218.0 million -
Based on a diluted share count of 45.9 million shares, the company expects fiscal 2025 adjusted diluted earnings per share* to be in the range of
to$4.42 versus$4.68 in fiscal 2024.$4.42
“The company has updated our forecast for fiscal 2025 based on current visibility levels and exchange rates,” said Sanjay Puria, WNS’ Chief Financial Officer. “Our guidance for the full year reflects growth in revenue less repair payments* of
____________________ | |
* |
See “About Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and the reconciliations of the historical non-GAAP financial measures to our GAAP operating results at the end of this release. |
Conference Call
WNS will host a conference call on July 18, 2024, at 8:00 am (Eastern) to discuss the company's quarterly results. To access the call in “listen-only” mode, please join live via the company’s investor relations website at ir.wns.com. For call participants, please register using this online form to receive your dial-in number and unique PIN/passcode which can be used to access the call. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the company website at ir.wns.com.
About WNS
WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS) is a leading Business Process Management (BPM) company. WNS combines deep industry knowledge with technology, analytics, and process expertise to co-create innovative, digitally led transformational solutions with over 600 clients across various industries. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of BPM solutions including industry-specific offerings, customer experience services, finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, and research and analytics to re-imagine the digital future of businesses. As of June 30, 2024, WNS had 60,513 professionals across 64 delivery centers worldwide including facilities in
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions about our Company and our industry. Generally, these forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “seek,” “should” and similar expressions. These statements include, among other things, expressed or implied forward-looking statements relating to discussions of our strategic initiatives and the expected resulting benefits, our growth opportunities, industry environment, our expectations concerning our future financial performance and growth potential, including our fiscal 2025 guidance, estimated capital expenditures, and expected foreign currency exchange rates. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to worldwide economic and business conditions, our dependence on a limited number of clients in a limited number of industries; currency fluctuations; political or economic instability in the jurisdictions where we have operations; regulatory, legislative and judicial developments; increasing competition in the BPM industry; technological innovation; our liability arising from fraud or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential client and customer data; telecommunications or technology disruptions; our ability to attract and retain clients; negative public reaction in the US or the
References to “$” and “USD” refer to
WNS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED |
||||||||||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME |
||||||||||||
(Unaudited, amounts in millions, except share and per share data) |
||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Three months ended |
|||||||||||
|
Jun 30,
|
Jun 30,
|
Mar 31,
|
|||||||||
Revenue |
$ |
323.1 |
|
$ |
326.5 |
|
$ |
336.8 |
|
|||
Cost of revenue (1) |
|
209.4 |
|
|
213.9 |
|
|
217.7 |
|
|||
Gross profit |
|
113.7 |
|
|
112.6 |
|
|
119.1 |
|
|||
Operating expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Selling and marketing expenses |
|
21.5 |
|
|
20.0 |
|
|
19.3 |
|
|||
General and administrative expenses |
|
45.7 |
|
|
46.9 |
|
|
45.2 |
|
|||
Foreign exchange loss/ (gain), net |
|
1.0 |
|
|
(0.9 |
) |
|
(0.3 |
) |
|||
Amortization of intangible assets |
|
6.9 |
|
|
8.7 |
|
|
7.0 |
|
|||
Impairment of intangible assets |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
30.9 |
|
|||
Operating income |
|
38.6 |
|
|
37.9 |
|
|
16.9 |
|
|||
Other income, net |
|
(3.9 |
) |
|
(4.8 |
) |
|
(4.9 |
) |
|||
Interest expense |
|
4.4 |
|
|
3.6 |
|
|
3.8 |
|
|||
Income before income tax expense |
|
38.0 |
|
|
39.0 |
|
|
18.0 |
|
|||
Income tax expenses |
|
9.1 |
|
|
7.0 |
|
|
3.5 |
|
|||
Net income |
$ |
28.9 |
|
$ |
32.0 |
|
$ |
14.5 |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Earnings per share |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Basic |
$ |
0.64 |
|
$ |
0.67 |
|
$ |
0.31 |
|
|||
Diluted |
$ |
0.61 |
|
$ |
0.64 |
|
$ |
0.30 |
|
|||
Weighted average number of shares used in computing earnings per share |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Basic |
|
45,443,899 |
|
|
47,997,486 |
|
|
46,274,349 |
|
|||
Diluted |
|
47,425,017 |
|
|
50,259,257 |
|
|
48,252,531 |
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
(1) Exclusive of amortization expense |
||||||||||||
WNS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED |
||||||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION |
||||||||
(Unaudited, amounts in millions, except share and per share data) |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
As at Jun 30,
|
As at Mar 31,
|
||||||
ASSETS |
|
|
|
|
||||
Current assets: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
83.9 |
|
$ |
87.4 |
|
||
Investments |
|
217.3 |
|
|
156.5 |
|
||
Accounts receivable, net |
|
128.9 |
|
|
124.6 |
|
||
Unbilled revenue |
|
106.6 |
|
|
107.8 |
|
||
Funds held for clients |
|
7.4 |
|
|
6.9 |
|
||
Derivative assets |
|
7.6 |
|
|
5.8 |
|
||
Contract assets |
|
13.3 |
|
|
11.9 |
|
||
Prepaid expense and other current assets |
|
30.2 |
|
|
28.7 |
|
||
Total current assets |
|
595.2 |
|
|
529.7 |
|
||
Goodwill |
|
356.3 |
|
|
356.3 |
|
||
Other intangible assets, net |
|
124.4 |
|
|
124.4 |
|
||
Property and equipment, net |
|
71.8 |
|
|
73.7 |
|
||
Operating lease right-of-use assets |
|
178.6 |
|
|
181.4 |
|
||
Derivative assets |
|
2.7 |
|
|
1.9 |
|
||
Deferred tax assets |
|
50.7 |
|
|
49.9 |
|
||
Investments |
|
0.3 |
|
|
0.3 |
|
||
Contract assets |
|
54.0 |
|
|
52.8 |
|
||
Other assets |
|
63.5 |
|
|
63.6 |
|
||
TOTAL ASSETS |
$ |
1,497.6 |
|
$ |
1,434.1 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
|
|
|
|
||||
Current liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accounts payable |
$ |
24.6 |
|
$ |
25.0 |
|
||
Provisions and accrued expenses |
|
32.8 |
|
|
31.2 |
|
||
Derivative liabilities |
|
9.1 |
|
|
4.0 |
|
||
Pension and other employee obligations |
|
71.9 |
|
|
105.4 |
|
||
Short-term borrowings |
|
73.0 |
|
|
40.0 |
|
||
Current portion of long-term debt |
|
56.6 |
|
|
36.7 |
|
||
Contract liabilities |
|
17.5 |
|
|
12.9 |
|
||
Income taxes payable |
|
14.1 |
|
|
8.3 |
|
||
Operating lease liabilities |
|
28.3 |
|
|
28.8 |
|
||
Other liabilities |
|
43.3 |
|
|
19.9 |
|
||
Total current liabilities |
|
371.2 |
|
|
312.0 |
|
||
Derivative liabilities |
|
1.5 |
|
|
0.6 |
|
||
Pension and other employee obligations, less current portion |
|
24.7 |
|
|
24.6 |
|
||
Long-term debt, less current portion |
|
171.9 |
|
|
102.5 |
|
||
Contract liabilities |
|
12.7 |
|
|
12.6 |
|
||
Operating lease liabilities, less current portion |
|
159.1 |
|
|
161.1 |
|
||
Other liabilities |
|
0.1 |
|
|
13.9 |
|
||
Deferred tax liabilities |
|
19.5 |
|
|
19.4 |
|
||
TOTAL LIABILITIES |
$ |
760.7 |
|
$ |
646.8 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Shareholders' equity: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Share capital (ordinary shares |
|
7.4 |
|
|
7.3 |
|
||
Additional paid-in capital |
|
11.1 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Retained earnings |
|
1,065.5 |
|
|
1,034.4 |
|
||
Other reserves |
|
3.9 |
|
|
6.1 |
|
||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
|
(266.8 |
) |
|
(260.6 |
) |
||
Total shareholders’ equity including shares held in treasury |
$ |
821.1 |
|
$ |
787.3 |
|
||
Less: 1,643,731 shares as at June 30, 2024 and Nil shares as at March 31, 2024, held in treasury, at cost |
|
(84.2 |
) |
|
— |
|
||
Total shareholders’ equity |
$ |
736.9 |
|
$ |
787.3 |
|
||
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
$ |
1,497.6 |
|
$ |
1,434.1 |
|
||
About Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The financial information in this release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe more accurately reflect our core operating performance. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to our GAAP operating results are included below. A more detailed discussion of our GAAP results is contained in “Part I –Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in our annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on May 10, 2024.
Revenue less repair payments is a non-GAAP financial measure that is calculated as (a) revenue less (b) in our BFSI segment, payments to repair centers for “fault” repair cases where WNS acts as the principal in its dealings with the third party repair centers and its clients. WNS believes that revenue less repair payments for “fault” repairs reflects more accurately the value addition of the business process management services that it directly provides to its clients. For more details, please see the discussion in “Part I – Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects – Overview” in our annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on May 10, 2024.
Constant currency revenue less repair payments is a non-GAAP financial measure. We present constant currency revenue less repair payments so that revenue less repair payments may be viewed without the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, thereby facilitating period-to-period comparisons of business performance. Constant currency revenue less repair payments is presented by recalculating prior period’s revenue less repair payments denominated in currencies other than in US dollars using the foreign exchange rate used for the latest period, without taking into account the impact of hedging gains/losses. Our non-US dollar denominated revenues include, but are not limited to, revenues denominated in pound sterling, South African rand, Australian dollar and Euro.
WNS also presents or discusses (1) adjusted operating margin, which refers to adjusted operating profit (calculated as operating profit / (loss) excluding goodwill & intangible impairment, share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses or benefits, costs related to the exchange of ADSs to ordinary shares, costs related to change to US GAAP reporting and voluntarily filing on US domestic issuer forms with SEC and amortization of intangible assets) as a percentage of revenue less repair payments, (2) ANI, which is calculated as profit excluding goodwill & intangible impairment, share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related expenses or benefits, costs related to the termination of ADS program and listing of ordinary shares, costs related to the transition to voluntarily reporting on US domestic issuer forms and amortization of intangible assets and including the tax effect thereon, (3) Adjusted net income margin, which refers to ANI as a percentage of revenue less repair payments, and other non-GAAP financial measures included in this release as supplemental measures of its performance.
Acquisition-related expenses or benefits consists of transaction costs, integration expenses, employment-linked earn-out as part of deferred consideration and changes in the fair value of contingent consideration including the impact of present value thereon. WNS presents these non-GAAP financial measures because it believes they assist investors in comparing its performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that are non-recurring in nature and those it believes are not indicative of its core operating performance. In addition, it uses these non-GAAP financial measures (i) to evaluate the effectiveness of its business strategies and (ii) (with certain adjustments) as a factor in evaluating management’s performance when determining incentive compensation. WNS is excluding acquisition-related expenses as described above with effect from fiscal 2023 second quarter.
These non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for WNS’ financial results prepared in accordance with US-GAAP.
The company is not able to provide our forward-looking GAAP revenue, profit and earnings per share without unreasonable efforts for a number of reasons, including our inability to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the payments to repair centers, our future share-based compensation expense under US-GAAP (Share Based payments), amortization of intangibles and acquisition-related expenses or benefits associated with future acquisitions, goodwill impairment and currency fluctuations. As a result, any attempt to provide a reconciliation of the forward-looking GAAP financial measures (revenue, profit, earnings per share) to our forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures (revenue less repair payments*, ANI* and Adjusted diluted earnings per share*, respectively) would imply a degree of likelihood that we do not believe is reasonable.
Reconciliation of revenue (GAAP) to revenue less repair payments (non-GAAP) and constant currency revenue less repair payments (non-GAAP) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Three months ended |
|
Three months ended
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Mar 31,
|
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Mar 31,
|
|||||||||
|
(Amounts in millions) |
|
(% growth) |
|||||||||||||||
Revenue (GAAP) |
$ |
323.1 |
$ |
326.5 |
$ |
336.8 |
(1.0 |
%) |
(4.1 |
%) |
||||||||
Less: Payments to repair centers |
|
10.7 |
|
9.0 |
|
10.9 |
18.4 |
% |
(1.8 |
%) |
||||||||
Revenue less repair payments (non-GAAP) |
$ |
312.4 |
$ |
317.5 |
$ |
325.9 |
(1.6 |
%) |
(4.1 |
%) |
||||||||
Exchange rate impact |
|
0.9 |
|
1.5 |
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||
Constant currency revenue less repair payments (non-GAAP) |
$ |
313.4 |
$ |
319.0 |
$ |
326.0 |
(1.8 |
%) |
(3.9 |
%) |
||||||||
Reconciliation of operating income (GAAP to non-GAAP) |
||||||||||||
|
Three months ended |
|||||||||||
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Mar 31,
|
|||||||
|
(Amounts in millions) |
|||||||||||
Operating income (GAAP) |
$ |
38.6 |
|
$ |
37.9 |
|
$ |
16.9 |
|
|||
Add: Share-based compensation expense |
|
11.2 |
|
|
16.2 |
|
|
9.0 |
|
|||
Add: Amortization of intangible assets |
|
6.9 |
|
|
8.7 |
|
|
7.0 |
|
|||
Add: Impairment of intangible assets |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
30.9 |
|
|||
Add: Acquisition-related expenses |
|
0.6 |
|
|
1.0 |
|
|
0.6 |
|
|||
Add: Costs related to the termination of ADS program and listing of ordinary shares |
|
0.1 |
|
|
— |
|
|
3.6 |
|
|||
Add: Costs related to the transition to voluntarily reporting on US domestic issuer forms |
|
0.3 |
|
|
— |
|
|
0.1 |
|
|||
Adjusted operating income (non-GAAP) |
$ |
57.6 |
|
$ |
63.8 |
|
$ |
68.2 |
|
|||
Operating income as a percentage of revenue (GAAP) |
|
11.9 |
% |
|
11.6 |
% |
|
5.0 |
% |
|||
Adjusted operating income as a percentage of revenue less repair payments (non-GAAP) |
|
18.4 |
% |
|
20.1 |
% |
|
20.9 |
% |
|||
Reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to ANI (non-GAAP) |
||||||||||||
|
Three months ended |
|||||||||||
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Jun 30,
|
|
Mar 31,
|
|||||||
|
(Amounts in millions, except per share data) |
|||||||||||
Net income (GAAP) |
$ |
28.9 |
|
$ |
32.0 |
|
$ |
14.5 |
|
|||
Add: Share-based compensation expense |
|
11.2 |
|
|
16.2 |
|
|
9.0 |
|
|||
Add: Amortization of intangible assets |
|
6.9 |
|
|
8.7 |
|
|
7.0 |
|
|||
Add: Impairment of intangible assets |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
30.9 |
|
|||
Add: Acquisition-related expenses / (benefits), net |
|
0.8 |
|
|
1.3 |
|
|
0.3 |
|
|||
Add: Costs related to the termination of ADS program and listing of ordinary shares |
|
0.1 |
|
|
— |
|
|
3.6 |
|
|||
Add: Costs related to the transition to voluntarily reporting on US domestic issuer forms |
|
0.3 |
|
|
— |
|
|
0.1 |
|
|||
Less: Tax impact on above (1) |
|
(4.1 |
) |
|
(7.1 |
) |
|
(11.5 |
) |
|||
Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) |
$ |
44.0 |
|
$ |
51.1 |
|
$ |
53.9 |
|
|||
Net income as a percentage of revenue (GAAP) |
|
9.0 |
% |
|
9.8 |
% |
|
4.3 |
% |
|||
Adjusted net income as a percentage of revenue less repair payments (non-GAAP) |
|
14.1 |
% |
|
16.1 |
% |
|
16.6 |
% |
|||
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (non-GAAP) |
$ |
0.93 |
|
$ |
1.02 |
|
$ |
1.12 |
|
(1) |
The company applies GAAP methodologies in computing the tax impact on its non-GAAP ANI adjustments (including amortization of intangible assets, acquisition-related expenses and share-based compensation expense). The company’s non-GAAP tax expense is generally higher than its GAAP tax expense if the income subject to taxes is higher considering the effect of the items excluded from GAAP profit to arrive at non-GAAP profit. |
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240717914865/en/
Investors:
David
EVP – Finance & Head of Investor Relations
WNS (Holdings) Limited
+1 (646) 908-2615
david.mackey@wns.com
Media:
Archana Raghuram
EVP & Global Head – Marketing & Communications
WNS (Holdings) Limited
+91 (22) 4095 2397
archana.raghuram@wns.com; pr@wns.com
Source: WNS (Holdings) Limited
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