Persistent Systems reported Q1 FY27 results on August 2, 2026: revenue grew 16.1% year-on-year to $452.4M (₹4,303 crore), yet consolidated net profit dropped 8.7% sequentially to ₹483 crore — the culprit was a sharp forex loss sitting below the operating line.
Revenue up 16%, profit down 9%. On the surface, that looks broken. But here is how a CFO reads it — and the answer lives below the EBIT line.
Persistent's operating engine is actually humming. EBIT margin held at 16.0%, and the company booked a record TCV (total contract value — the pipeline of future work signed) of $1.15 billion this quarter, including a single $650M deal. That is a healthy business.
So where did the profit go? Forex losses. Persistent earns most of its revenue in USD but reports in INR. When the rupee strengthens against the dollar — or when the company has unhedged exposures — those translation or mark-to-market losses show up as a negative 'other income' item, dragging PAT (profit after tax) down even when operations didn't miss a beat.
A CFO would immediately separate the P&L into two layers: above EBIT (the operating story) and below EBIT (the financial story). EBIT was fine. The damage was purely financial — interest, forex, and taxes, the items in module m06. A CFO would then ask: how much of this forex hit was hedged, how much was structural, and does it reverse next quarter?
The lesson for founders: a single line on the P&L can make a great quarter look terrible. Learn to read where the pain actually lives.
📚 Learn the concept: Interest, Tax & PAT
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