Larsen & Toubro Infotech USD Revenues Grow 11.2% YoY; Net Profit Up 26.7% YoY

Larsen & Toubro Infotech (BSE code: 540005, NSE: LTI), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company, announced its Q2 FY21 results today.

In US Dollars:

Revenue at USD 404.5 million; increase of 3.6% QoQ and 11.2% YoY

Constant Currency Revenue increase of 2.3% QoQ and 10.5% YoY

In Indian Rupees:

Revenue at INR 29,984 million; increase of 1.7% QoQ and growth of 16.6% YoY

Net Income at INR 4,568 million; increase of 9.7% QoQ and growth of 26.7% YoY

“We are pleased to report 11.2% YoY growth in revenues and 26.7% YoY growth in net profit in Q2. We are also happy to announce a large deal with net new TCV in excess of USD 40mn in analytics. Our large deal pipeline remains strong and we see increased traction in digital, cloud and analytics space.

The pandemic has made it apparent that organizations need to reimagine their target operating models embracing digital transformations to remain relevant in the marketplace. This presents tremendous opportunities for companies like us with comprehensive digital transformation capabilities,” says Sanjay Jalona, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director.

Recent Deal Wins

- LTI has been selected by a key government ministry for a large data and analytics led transformation deal. As part of the deal, applications and operations will be transformed and developed for collection and dissemination of data as information, case management and fraud management using artificial intelligence

- A leading powerhouse semiconductor company has partnered with LTI on its transformation journey to re-imagine their digital core and move away from their existing Oracle EBS on-prem version to S/4 HANA on cloud

- LTI has been selected to set up a digital and AI driven Security Operations Centre with an objective to completely modernize the digital security apparatus by a leading provider and manufacturer of heating and cooling solutions and equipment

- LTI has been chosen to manage all the testing services including that of 3rd party products, in-house applications, web portals and mobile applications to ensure high quality experience by end users of a U.K. based wealth management firm

- A financial services provider has selected LTI as its partner of choice to provide services for legacy modernization and enterprise integration

- A global HVAC manufacturer has selected LTI to rationalize and migrate its data application landscape to cloud

- A manufacturer of medical supplies and equipment has selected LTI for application support and maintenance activities for its COTS and custom applications to ensure flexible cost structure, better knowledge retention and better KPI management

- A multi-national manufacturer of industrial products has selected LTI as its preferred partner to implement Extended Warehouse Management systems by SAP to ensure process harmonization, efficient operations and automation across all its warehouses

- A Global Fortune 500 energy company has selected LTI for maintenance and functional support for their content server to ensure secure systems for data storage throughout its lifecycle

- A Global Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company chose LTI to migrate its on-premise commercial database system to cloud

- A drilling rig operator has selected LTI to provide enhancements, maintenance and support to its business-critical IT system on their drilling rigs to ensure safety and efficiency of rig workers

Awards and Recognitions

* LTI Recognized as a Leader and Rising Star in the ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen Private/Hybrid Cloud – Data Center Services & Solutions Report, Nordics 2020

* LTI’s business process transformation for a Leading Manufacturer of High-performance Blenders featured in ISG’s Book on Digital Excellence, Scaling Digital: 25 Stories of Innovation

* LTI featured as a Major Contender in Everest Group Cloud-Native Application Development Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2020

* LTI recognized as a Sample Vendor in Gartner Hype Cycle for Analytics and Business Intelligence, 2020

Other Business Highlights

* The Board of Directors at its meeting held on October 20th, 2020 have declared an interim dividend of INR 15 per equity share (Face Value of INR 1)

* LTI launched Canvas PolarSled, an automated cloud migration and modernization framework to help enterprises accelerate their data journey to Snowflake, the cloud data platform

* LTI is now an ‘Elite’ (highest) level partner with ServiceNow in the Sales, Services and Managed Services category

* LTI has been recognized as a Great Place to Work-Certified™ Company in the USA

* LTI ranked #1 in the Institutional Investor’s 2020 All-Asia Executive Team survey, across all sell-side categories in the Technology/IT Services & Software space. It was the only IT Services Company to be included in the ‘Most-Honored’ List 2020

* LTI has bagged the Platinum Award (highest category) for its Warli CSR project in the Employment Enhancing Vocational Skills category at the 7th Annual CSR Awards 2020, organized by the Greentech Foundation

* LTI released its 4th Sustainability Report with the theme of ‘Partnering for a Resilient Future’. Through this report, we present to you how LTI has focused on three critical aspects to sustainable development – Education, Empowerment and Environment

About LTI

LTI (NSE: LTI) is a global technology consulting and digital solutions Company helping more than 400 clients succeed in a converging world. With operations in 31 countries, we go the extra mile for our clients and accelerate their digital transformation with LTI’s Mosaic platform enabling their mobile, social, analytics, IoT and cloud journeys. Founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro Limited, our unique heritage gives us unrivalled real-world expertise to solve the most complex challenges of enterprises across all industries. Each day, our team of more than 30,000 LTItes enable our clients to improve the effectiveness of their business and technology operations and deliver value to their customers, employees and shareholders. 

Today Microsoft Launches Into The Space Industry With Its Azure Space

Just minutes ago, Microsoft announced it is taking the next giant leap in cloud computing – Space. Azure Space - a new set of offerings, a partner ecosystem, and a global strategy focused on innovation offering an integrated cloud and satellite experience to connect almost any device anywhere.  Details include: 

Partnerships with leading satellite communications providers SpaceX and SES to bring secure connectivity across each orbital, creating an integrated cloud and satellite connectivity experience anywhere in the world.  

New Azure product innovations, such as Azure Modular Datacenter, Azure Orbital Emulator, and the recently announced Azure Orbital, to support high-intensity secure cloud computing. 

An introduction to Microsoft’s space leadership team, including industry leaders such as William Chappell, formerly of DARPA; Chirag Parikh, formerly the White House Director of Space Policy on the National Security Council; and Stephen Kitay, who most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. 

The space community is growing rapidly, and innovation is lowering the barriers of access for an industry that used to be solely the bastion of governments. As space missions and satellite capabilities become more accessible, Microsoft aims to democratize space by developing reliable technologies with the power of Azure to help the space community launch faster and with mission assurance. Today’s announcement is the result of Microsoft’s continued learning in helping organizations succeed in the most challenging environments.  

Micron Readies World’s First Multichip Package With LPDDR5 DRAM for Mass Production

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), has announced the launch of uMCP5, the industry’s first universal flash storage (UFS) multichip package with low-power DDR5 (LPDDR5) DRAM. Now ready for mass production, Micron’s uMCP5 combines high-performance, high-density and low-power memory and storage in one compact package, equipping smartphones to handle data-intensive 5G workloads with dramatically increased speed and power efficiency. The multichip package uses Micron’s leading LPDDR5 memory to power advanced mobile features previously only seen in costly flagship devices using discrete products, such as stand-alone memory and storage. Now available on other high-end phones, these emerging technologies — such as image recognition, advanced artificial intelligence (AI), multicamera support, augmented reality (AR) and high-resolution displays — are becoming accessible to more consumers.

“Moving 5G’s potential from hype to reality will require smartphones that can support the immense volumes of data flowing through the network and next-gen applications,” said Raj Talluri, senior vice president and general manager of Micron’s Mobile Business Unit. “Our uMCP5 combines the fastest memory and storage in a single package, unleashing new possibilities for 5G’s disruptive, data-rich technologies right at consumers’ fingertips.”

Micron uMCP5 brings unparalleled speed and efficiency to the 5G ecosystem

This launch builds on Micron’s March announcement of its sampling of uMCP5 and sets a new standard for the mobile market as the first multichip package to use the latest generations of UFS and low-power DRAM. The vast volumes of data that smartphones must store and process today are pushing memory bandwidth to its limits with LPDDR4-based midtier chipsets. The result is lowered video resolution, frustrating lags and limited features.

With LPDDR5, Micron has significantly increased memory bandwidth from 3,733 to 6,400 megabits per second (Mb/s), enabling seamless, instant experiences for mobile users, even when using data-heavy features.

“5G provides smartphones with unprecedented multigigabit speeds to connect with the cloud,” said Ziad Asghar, vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We're excited that uMCP5 is now available, bringing memory on par with 5G speeds to a new generation of phones and enabling best-in-class gaming, differentiated camera and AI experiences, and ultrafast file transfers.”

Designed specifically for next-generation 5G devices, uMCP5 can easily and quickly process and store massive amounts of data without compromising performance or power usage. High-performance memory and storage capabilities provide uMCP5 with the ability to fully support 5G download speeds and more applications running at once.

Micron uMCP5 features include:

* Dramatically extended battery life: Building on its success with uMCP4, Micron taps LPDDR5 memory for uMCP5 to enable complete utilization of 5G networks, providing a nearly 20% power efficiency boost compared to LPDDR4. In addition, Micron’s UFS 3.1 consumes about 40% less power than Micron’s UFS 2.1 predecessor. For smartphone users, this means extended battery life — even when consuming power-draining multimedia applications or data-intensive features such as AI, AR, image recognition, gaming, immersive entertainment and more.

* Fast download speeds: Unlocking the full potential of 5G performance, Micron’s uMCP5 provides users with 20% faster sustained download speeds, as compared to Micron’s previous UFS 2.1-based solutions.

* Boosted endurance: uMCP5 also boasts an improved endurance by around 66% to 5,000 program/erase cycles, exponentially increasing the cycles and volume of data that devices can program and erase without degrading device performance — extending a smartphone’s life span even for the heaviest of users.

* Industry-leading bandwidth: Devices with uMCP5 will support a maximum DRAM bandwidth of up to 6,400 Mb/s, a 50% increase compared to the previous LPDDR4x generation, which runs at a bandwidth of 4,266 Mb/s. This allows mobile users to multitask on many applications without diminishing experience. The increased bandwidth also enables higher-quality image processing for AI-powered computational photography in smartphones, putting professional photography capabilities in users’ hands. Micron is the first vendor in the industry to support full-speed LPDDR5.

* Latest flash performance: Micron’s uMCP5 also draws on the fastest UFS 3.1-based storage interface, providing twice the sequential read performance and 20% faster write speeds compared to Micron’s previous generation of UFS 2.1 products.

* Tight, space-saving design: Micron designed uMCP5 in the most compact form factor possible, using its multichip package expertise and known manufacturing and packaging techniques — enabling slimmer, more agile smartphone designs. Devices using Micron’s package can save 55% of printed circuit board space compared to discrete solutions, meaning stand-alone versions of LPDDR5 and UFS. This space savings enables phone manufacturers to maximize battery size or add features, such as cameras, gesture devices or sensors. Micron offers a broad range of capacity configurations up to 12 gigabytes (GB) of LPDDR5 and 512 GB NAND.

Availability of Micron uMCP5

Now ready for mass production, uMCP5 is available in four distinct density configurations: 128+8 GB, 128+12 GB, 256+8 GB and 256+12 GB. To learn more, visit https://www.micron.com/products/multichip-packages/ufs-based-mcp.

About Micron Technology, Inc.

We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions. Through our global brands — Micron® and Crucial® — our broad portfolio of high-performance memory and storage technologies, including DRAM, NAND, 3D XPoint™ memory and NOR, is transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. Backed by more than 40 years of technology leadership, our memory and storage solutions enable disruptive trends, including artificial intelligence, 5G, machine learning and autonomous vehicles, in key market segments like mobile, data center, client, consumer, industrial, graphics, automotive, and networking. Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit micron.com.

Orion Uptown Mall Celebrates AIM’s 13th Year of BIAF 2020 During Weekend

‘Harmony and heal through Arts’ a celebration of harmony through arts was jointly hosted by Bangalore International Arts festival and Orion Mall over the weekend at Irion Uptown Mall, Old Madras Road.

The celebrations which were held to commemorate the 13th year of BIAF saw a slew of programs and performances.

There was a retelling of Ramayana in the Bharatanatyam Margam format by Adithya PV, Shruti Gopal and Parshwanath S Upadhye besides the music ensemble by Shri Rohit Bhat Uppoor.

The audience was enthralled by Synergic Score by Dr. Suma Sudhindra on Veena on Sunday. There was also a captivating live painting by Dr. BKS Verma.

AIM's 13th  year Celebrations of Bengaluru International Arts Festival  - BIAF 2020 proves its sustainable growth as an acclaimed annual Global festival, in the map of the  international festivals of the world. AIM  is an NGO dedicated to the propagation of the performing arts, with a focus on the Indian Classical forms and its emerging contemporary expressions.

The brainchild of Dr.Suma Sudhindra & Dr.Veena Murthy Vijay, AIM has been actively promoting the performing arts, music, dance and theatre through mega festivals, lectures and workshops. Another important contribution to the environment to the Bengaluru is “Go Green Bengaluru”,  a Campaign dedicated to planting trees and creating a forestation around Bengaluru. AIM has produced a lifestyle series for television series One State Many Worlds.

Huawei Releases Sustainability Progress Report - Enriching Lives with Technology

Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) today published its Sustainability Progress Report. The report highlights the company’s sustainability achievements over the past decade, covering four major areas including information accessibility, education and health, environmental protection, and corporate responsibility. This marks the first time that Huawei Consumer BG shares its sustainability progress on a standalone report.

“To achieve sustainability, we believe fulfilling corporate responsibility and driving innovation go hand in hand. Sustainability is one of our top priorities and it is fully integrated into our business development strategy. We strive to democratise access to innovative technology to bridge the digital divide, so everyone can enjoy the Seamless AI Life,” said Wan Biao, Chief Operating Officer of Huawei Consumer BG.

Huawei Consumer BG considers providing global consumers equal access to technology as its corporate mission and responsibility. Since optimizing the accessibility experience from the system level with EMUI5.1 in 2017, Huawei has been making subtle design changes to improve the experience for differently abled users. To date, Huawei has included 15 accessibility options on its smartphones, benefiting roughly 10 million users worldwide every month.

The value of technology lies in how it can empower change. By integrating health management services into its smart devices, Huawei gave every user their very own personal health manager and proactively take health management into their own hands. At present, 1.8 million users have downloaded and registered for an account on the Heart Health Research app from AppGallery, and the app has successfully helped identify more than 4200 suspected cases of atrial fibrillation[1].

Huawei has always been committed to green product design to minimise its impact on the environment. For instance, Huawei includes multi-faceted and integrated power saving solutions into its smartphone products. According to a power consumption test on typical application, power efficiency on Huawei smartphones had improved by about 50 percent from 2015 to 2019. Since 2015, Huawei helped 500,000 smartphones find a new owner through its trade-in programme. By replacing plastic packaging with fibre material, the plastic content of HUAWEI P40 Series packaging is reduced by 17 percent compared with the previous generation, reducing plastic use by 17,500kg per 10 million smartphones. Adopting a standardised design, Huawei will launch the next HUAWEI Mate Series devices that feature 68 percent improved packaging utilisation and 55g less packaging materials compared with the HUAWEI Mate 7 Series. This means that for every 10 million smartphones, Huawei saves 550 tons of paper, which is equivalent to saving 9,350 trees[2].

Over the past decade, Huawei Consumers BG has been working with developers, suppliers and industry associations to proactively engage in sustainable development. For instance, the company has been helping suppliers with carbon emission investigation, and results show that 25 suppliers have reduced carbon emission by 540,000 tons in 2019. Huawei Consumer BG had also conducted face-to-face conversations with more than 15,000 frontline factory workers to learn about their living and working conditions, and have been working to ensure that they are living and working in healthier and safer environments.

The publishing of the report sets a new bar for sustainability and corporate responsibility. Huawei Consumer BG believes that every little bit helps, and every bit adds up. From lowering carbon footprint to improving accessibility, Huawei Consumer BG will continue to make contributions to creating a better world for every person.

About Huawei Consumer BG

Huawei’s products and services are available in more than 170 countries and are used by a third of the world’s population. Fifteen R&D centres have been set up in the United States, Germany, Sweden, Russia, India and China. Huawei Consumer BG is one of Huawei’s three business units and covers smartphones, PC and tablets, wearables and cloud services, etc. Huawei’s global network is built on almost 30 years of expertise in the telecom industry and is dedicated to delivering the latest technological advances to consumers around the world.

Durex Launches India’s Thinnest Condoms for Improved Intimacy and Pleasure

Durex, the world’s #1 sexual wellbeing brand today, created a new benchmark in its category with the launch of ‘Durex Invisible’ India’s thinnest condom.  Through this distinctive innovation, Durex aims to encourage usage of condoms by addressing the biggest consumer barrier to usage that it hinders intimacy between the couples.

Durex invisible condom is made of extremely fine & ultra-thin latex making it ‘invisible’ ensuring couples always have a pleasurable experience.

Mr. Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB South Asia Health said “We are excited to announce the launch of India’s thinnest condom, Durex Invisible. We truly believe that this condom will transform the market by addressing the biggest barrier to condom use - reduced pleasure with the partner.  Through this campaign, we aim to encourage more and more people to feel pleasurable sex with Durex Invisible while we continue to deliver on the high-quality standards that Durex is known for with no compromises on reliability.”  

Studies** reveal that only 6.3% people use condoms in the country. In spite of having high awareness, some people do not use Condoms because of inhibition of reduced pleasure with the partner. Interestingly, in the past couple of days, we have noticed these conversations stir up again on social media and the same barriers appear to be the centre of the discussion. Here are some of the interesting opinions and takes:

With the launch of the invisible condoms, a new TVC also goes live today that showcases & highlights that nothing comes between ‘you and unforgettable sex.’ Towards the end, it closes with the message that all obstacles to great and pleasurable sex would be removed with this all new innovation. Durex invisible, India’s thinnest condom, is so thin like it’s not even there.

Commenting on the creative strategy, Bobby Pawar, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, Havas Group India said, “Having unprotected sex has been one of the major concerns in Indian society, to come with a TVC which addresses the issue was not easy. We have conceptualised the TVC keeping in mind the consumers' need and preference, by using indirect metaphor showing one can get maximum sexual pleasure, with Durex Invisible because, it's so thin that it's almost invisible! The idea behind the film was to create awareness about the brand's latest revolutionary product.”

Durex Invisible condoms will be available in packs of 3s and 10s. Additionally, these will also be available on all major ecommerce platforms across India, both traditional and modern trade pharmacy and in top convenience stores in major metropolitan cities.

TVC Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQGeWPFfvUg

Production House: Bang Bang Films

Director: Dibakar Banerjee

Creative Agency: Havas Creative India

FC Goa Player Mohamed Ali: There is a Lot of Room for Improvement

Last season saw FC Goa create history. Thanks to a club-record haul of 39 points in the league stage of the Indian Super League, the Gaurs clinched top spot and a historic first-ever spot in the group stage of the 2021 AFC Champions League for an Indian club.  

Mohamed Ali, a Goan native who has been a part of the FC Goa blueprint these last three years signed a new two-year extension. The new contract affords him the opportunity to build on what he considers ‘special’ and another chance at getting back his place in the starting XI as he foresees a room for improvement both in the personal as well as collective fronts. 

“This is going to be a big season ahead of us,” exclaimed Ali after committing his future to the Gaurs. “The club has always put a lot of faith in me and this is a great opportunity for me to repay the same. There is a lot of room for improvement.  

“Last season was great for us as a team. We played at a high level and were thankfully able to bring a lot of joy to the lives of all Goans. However, we can’t settle. As a club, we have a long way to go. It’s only been six years since we took to the field and the stress every season has been on improvement. 

“Personally, I don’t feel I was able to deliver up to my best abilities and I want to set that straight this season. The new coach gives me the chance at a fresh start and I will look to impress him in the days to come.” 

A new-look FC Goa, a new challenge 

The new season will see a number of fresh faces in the FC Goa shirt with the club already having made seven new signings. Ali, however, doesn’t feel that will impact much in terms of the attitude of the side and how they go about their business.  

“Having new faces in the dressing room is an exciting development. It gives us even more impetus to play better,” added the 28-year-old.  

“However, I don’t see us diverting from our plan. We are a club who are built on a philosophy to attack, to take the initiative in a game and that’s what we will continue to do. 

“It’s a new-look side but you can see from the signings that each one of them is a high-calibre player. I expect this season to be even tougher for me, but I am up for the challenge. With a number of new and young faces, I will also play with a chip on my shoulders.  

“The new normal will not allow fans to be in attendance, but we are sure that our fans will be glued to the TV and mobile sets. They are the best in the country and we look forward to making them proud once again.” 

About FC Goa 

FC Goa is a professional football club based out of Goa that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL) and is the current holder of the Super Cup.  Nicknamed the Gaurs, FC Goa has been one of the most consistent teams in the ISL - reaching 3 semi-finals and 2 finals in 6 seasons. 

In Season 2019/20, the club won the Hero ISL League Winners Shield, by finishing top of the table in the league stages and became the first-ever club from India to qualify for the group stages of the AFC Champions League. The Gaurs are also the only ISL side to win more than 50 games and score more than 200 goals. 

Co-owned by Mr Jaydev Mody, Mr Akshay Tandon and Mr Virat Kohli, FC Goa is one of Indian few Clubs to have a complete youth development ecosystem. It’s U14, U16, U18 and Developmental Teams compete at the highest levels in Goa and nationally. The system has produced recognizable talents like Saviour Gama, Princeton Rebello and many more. The Gaurs are also the Champions of the GFA U20 & GFA U18 Leagues and the winners of the Goa Professional League in 2018/19.