Can Hexaware Sustain Its Momentum?

The IT services company has done well in the run-up to its re-listing. But CEO Srikrishna's real challenge begins now.

- Shelley Singh

Public listings are usually sober events. The CEO takes the stage and talks about the journey followed by the ringing of the bell to signal the start of the company's public launch.

But Hexaware Technologies' February 19 listing was like a party. The moment the 33-year-old, Mumbai-headquartered company's stock started trading on the bourses, the celebratory mood at the bell-ringing ceremony was unmistakable.

Unlike the usual quiet corporate gatherings, Hexaware's leadership, employees, and investors made it a grand affair—more like a millennial after-party than a solemn listing event.

And why not? For a company that has transformed itself over the last decade, consistently delivering double-digit revenue growth, returning to the public markets after delisting in 2020 was a milestone that symbolized its evolution from a lower-tier IT firm to a fast-growing contender aiming for the big league.

However, just weeks after the euphoria, the reality of market scrutiny hit hard. Hexaware's first post-IPO quarterly results (the company follows a January-December financial year) on 7 March failed to impress investors, and the stock took a beating. The stock declined 6.75% to hit an intra-day low of 1764 on the NSE. On 19 March, Hexaware closed at 1736 on the BSE, down 3.09% from its previous close.

But CEO R. Srikrishna is unfazed. "Our numbers were very good. I know the market didn't like it, but it's going to take some time to educate it on our cyclicality," he said.

The company posted 18.5% y-o-y growth in revenue, with Ebitda (surging 48% and PAT (profit after tax) shooting up 65% (compared to Q4, 2023). "It's hard to have a better set of numbers than this," added Srikrishna, popularly called Keech, a nickname he got in school back in the early 1980s, from a Tamil film character with the same name.