Satyam Q4 profit up 18%

Consulting and IT services provider Satyam Computer Services on Monday announced a 17.84 per cent jump in its January-March quarter profit after tax at Rs 468.45 crore.

The company had reported a PAT of Rs 397.51 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2007, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

The stand-alone total income increased to Rs 2,337.84 crore for the quarter ended March 2008 from Rs 1,778.40 crore in the year-ago period.

The board of directors declared a final dividend of Rs 2.50 on shares of Rs 2 each (125 per cent).

Accordingly, the total dividend recommended for the year is 175 per cent (Rs 3.50 on shares of Rs 2 each), including interim dividend of 50 per cent, the company added.

For the year ended March 31, the company posted a profit after tax of Rs 1,715.74 crore as against Rs 1,423.23 crore in the previous year. Total Income of the company increased to Rs 8,394.48 crore for the year ended March 2008, from Rs 6,410.08 crore a year ago.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 480.85, up 2.54 per cent on BSE in early morning trade