WNS Holdings 3rd-quarter net income climbs

NEW YORK (AP) -- Indian outsourcing company WNS Holdings Ltd. said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter net income rose 53 percent, benefiting from new projects and increased revenue from several industries.

The company also narrowed its fiscal 2013 revenue forecast.

WNS provides outsourcing services such as finance and accounting, customer service, and technology, along with research and analytics, to a variety of industries including banking, manufacturing, shipping and health care.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, WNS earned $6.1 million, or 12 cents per American Depositary Share. That compares with $4 million, or 9 cents per ADS, a year earlier.

Excluding stock-based compensation expense and other items, earnings were 27 cents per ADS.

This was in line with the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $120.2 million from $117.2 million, buoyed by better revenue from industries such as travel, insurance, retail and consumer packaged goods and utilities. Stripping out repair payments, revenue was $113.5 million.

Wall Street expected revenue of $109.3 million.

Gross margin declined due to investments in infrastructure and costs related to new projects.

WNS now expects fiscal 2013 revenue between $437 million and $439 million, less repair payments. Its prior forecast was for revenue in a range of $426 million and $438 million.

Analysts predict $432.8 million in revenue.

Its U.S. shares closed at $11.36 on Tuesday.