HiSoft Looking Softer in 2011 After Strong Q1 海辉软件亮丽一季度後今年余下时间不看好

By newsdoug on May 24, 2011

Slowdown for China's IT outsourcers Following unimpressive earnings by rival VanceInfo (NYSE: VIT) last week (previous post), IT outsourcing specialist HiSoft (Nasdaq: HSFT) has followed with equally unimpressive outlook for the rest of 2011, reiterating guidance given earlier in the year for a big slowdown in its sector. HiSoft managed to log a solid 45 percent top-line growth for the first quarter, but reiterated guidance for more modest growth of around 30 percent for the full year, indicating a big slowdown may be brewing. (Company announcement) The top line numbers from both HiSoft and VanceInfo look remarkably similar even though HiSoft is much more geographically diversified than VanceInfo, which seems to indicate that global IT spending may be slowing after the big burst of deferred demand during the heady early days of global stimulus packages. At the end of the day, 30 percent growth isn’t all that bad, though investors may have to rethink their expectations for these companies. In terms of who is better positioned to ride out this slowdown, I would give a decided advantage to HiSoft if it can work through its margin issues brought on by rising costs. HiSoft seems to have a more diversified client base, getting just a fifth of its business from China, which will give it more protection as Beijing slams on the brakes to try and cool its overheating economy. Investors seem to be somewhat undecided, with HiSoft stock down 9 percent during regular Monday trading but then rebounding 17 percent in after hours.

Bottom line: A global slowdown in IT spending is taking a toll on outsourcing firms HiSoft and VanceInfo, with the former better positioned to ride out the downturn.

竞争对手文思信息(VanceInfo)<VIT.N>上周发布表现平平的财报後，IT外包企业海辉软件 (HiSoft)<HSFT.O>对今年余下时间的预期同样平淡无奇。海辉软件一季度净营收增加45%，表现较好，但公司再次强调全年30% 左右的增速预期，显示大减速或在酝酿中。文思与海辉的营收数字非常类似，尽管海辉的市场地域范畴更广泛。这似乎暗示，IT外包需求在早期全球刺激计划带动大爆发後，现在已开始开始逐步放缓。尽管投资者们或许要重新思考对公司的预期，但30%的增长速度当然也不算太差。如果说谁能更好地度过此次减速，我会把这一票投给海辉，当然它还需解决成本上升导致的利润率问题。海辉似乎拥有更加多元化的客户群，其中国业务贡献的收入仅占五分之一，鉴於中国政府对过热经济踩刹车，在中国市场的较低比例应该是一种保护。投资者们似乎还在犹豫，海辉股价周一在正常交易时段大跌9%，但在盘後交易又强力反弹17%。

一句话：全球IT行业开支减速对IT外包公司海辉与文思构成冲击，但海辉似乎更有能力顺利挺过难关。

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)