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Bengaluru-based Happiest Minds Technologies is targeting an exit run rate of $280 - $300 million in FY2025, with a projected growth of 30-35per cent. Venkatraman Narayanan, the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, stated this fiscal year is expected to be the company’s strongest since it went public four years ago in September 2020.
Happiest Minds, which made three acquisitions in the first quarter of FY25, with Macmillan Learning India, PureSoftware Technologies, and Aureus Tech Systems, is expected to become a billion-dollar company by 2031. In FY24, its revenues stood at $196 million.
“We have doubled in three financial years, with a 115per cent growth. We intend to continue this accelerated growth, expected to be between 21-22per cent every year. This will be done both organically and inorganically,” Narayanan told businessline.
He explained the company has a vertical approach, with acquisitions being made to strengthen its verticals, expand its geographical presence, and offer more services to the existing set of clients while bringing on more clients.
Edutech vertical
In Q1FY25, 21.5per cent of the company’s revenue came from its Edutech vertical. “Traditionally, we are strong in Edutech, but were trying to grow deeper into other verticals like BFSI, healthcare, hi-tech, manufacturing, and retail. At the beginning of the fiscal, Macmillan was added and came under Edutech. Aureus is almost 80per cent BFSI, with 10 - 20per cent focused on healthcare. That strengthens our BFSI presence while pushing for good healthcare numbers.”
He explained that with PureSoftware, 50per cent of revenue comes from BFSI, 30per cent from healthcare, and 20per cent from hi-tech games and others. “This year, after the end of the second quarter once the full integration of results has happened, we will have healthcare, Edutech, and BFSI of a reasonably equal size. These top three verticals will be in the range of $45 - $50 million.”
With inorganic growth through acquisitions, Happiest Minds has entered newer markets in Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The company also went deeper into India and expanded its presence in Noida by acquiring PureSoftware. “Noida becomes our second biggest center after Bangalore. We also pitched our flag in Hyderabad with our acquisition of Aureus,” the CFO said.
In Q1FY25, 66.5per cent of the company’s revenue came from the Americas, with 16.9per cent from India, 8.7per cent from Europe, and the rest from other parts of the world.
“IT services companies go where our customers take us. A large customer asked us to put up a center in LATAM. We have now 30-40 people in Mexico. PureSoftware sells its product, a banking-as-a-service platform “Arttha” to mid-sized banks in the APAC region. The next set of customers is in Africa, where we have three or four large banks,” he stated. The company also has three people working from South Africa for an Australian customer.
Happiest Minds, whose employee headcount stood at 6,599 in the previous quarter, is expected to reach 7,000 by the year’s end. With the acquisition of Aureus, Pure Software, and Macmillan Learning, 174, 1200, and 50 people were added to the company respectively.
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