Satyam lines up £1bn of UK outsourcing deals

Outsourcing giant Satyam could close up to £1bn of deals in the UK as it finds new business outside the credit-crunch-hit financial sector.

India's fourth-largest outsourcer has 10 deals worth between £20m and £100m on the table in the UK, and has claimed it is making headway in the retail, manufacturing and telecoms markets.

Dr Keshab Panda, head of Satyam's European business, told ZDNet.co.uk sister site silicon.com that the deals are helping to counter a slowdown in the financial sector, where businesses are deferring starting work on outsourcing agreements.

Panda is confident Satyam won't be cutting staff, saying it has doubled its headcount in the UK over the past two years and employed 5,200 new workers during the first two quarters of financial year 2009.

Panda's comments come as Satyam revealed its second-quarter results for fiscal 2009, showing revenues of 28.2bn rupees (£338m), up 38.8 percent year on year, and 7.6 percent on the last quarter.

He admitted that the company expects a tough third quarter, saying its revenue projections were "flat" at between 29.4bn rupees and 30.3bn rupees.

"Banking and financial services is a big segment as a whole for Satyam," he said.

"In the financial sector, there are cases where projects expected to start this month are being delayed. Q3 is always a difficult time for businesses worldwide and we have given guidance as flat for Q3," said Panda.

"But we have 10 deals coming up at this time in the UK. These are customers looking to reduce costs and wanting to do more outsourcing," he said.

Panda said the EU market continues to grow faster than the US, currently accounting for about 21 percent of Satyam's business, split at about 52 percent for the UK and 48 percent for continental Europe.