Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PCG RESEARCH
Nucleus Software
Industry CMP Recommendation Buying Range Targets Time Horizon
BUY at CMP and add on
IT Software Products Rs. 248 Rs. 248 - 225 Rs. 328 - 380 4-6 Quarters
Declines
Last year it had won 13 new product orders and 28 product modules successfully implemented across the
world. Nucleus has more than 100 installations of its product FinnOne since its inception in 1991. Revenue
contribution from the top 5 clients was at 48% against 41% during H1 FY17. As on Sep 2016, the order book
position stood at Rs. 334cr including Rs. 298cr of products business and Rs. 36cr of projects and services
business.
The company launched PaySe (Pay Securely) the worlds first offline digital cash solution in Dec 2015. It
will reduce and offset the costs associated with cash by replacing physical cash notes with digital currency. It
would also help in enabling digital cash and digital banking access to millions people who even dont have a
mobile phone.
PaySe is a technology-build on the concept of crypto currency, primarily tokenization to deliver offline peer-
to-peer payment solutions. Card holders will be able to move money from connected bank accounts to the
device through the online mode and then will be able to make payments offline through near-field
communication technology or Bluetooth function. The personal identification number-enabled device, called
Purse, which looks like a sleek calculator of the size of a debit card, though five times thicker, has been
developed by the company.
Nucleus creates crypto coins or electronic coins on a device and these coins can be downloaded from bank
account via Palm ATM, which is a smart phone. Once coins are downloaded either on device or on card, the
card called PaySe or the device is call Purse, once coins are downloaded on Purse or on PaySe card then it is
as good as cash and then one can transact with others who have a similar device and one can use card to
make the payment. However, to draw an analogy this card though it is quite away from a typical debit card
or a credit card in terms of its functioning, in fact this is completely away but it is somewhat similar that on
the card one has the money and the devise that is Purse like a point of sale (POS) and the transaction can
take place between these two devices.
PaySe product has gone live with two customers and gradually we believe more and more customers will be
added which would in turn boost revenues. Nucleus multiple offerings would help both microfinance
institutions, payment banks, and in fact small banks also to leverage the technology that we have developed,
we have been working on for some of the technologies we have been working for decades and some of the
latest technology that I want to talk about is something that we have been working for last three years and
this is a very exciting technology. Company has deployed it very successfully in two microfinance institutions
one in Haryana other one in Rajasthan. Company had deployed it with 100 odd self-help groups (SHGs) and
even microfinance institutions have asked us to deploy them in 5000 odd groups. So that is a validation of
the technology that has got developed in house here and likewise PaySe (Pay Securely).
The personal identification number-enabled device, called Purse, which looks like a sleek calculator of the
size of a debit card, though five times thicker, has been developed by the company. The partner companies
will be responsible for white labelling and distribution of the product. Purse will be a mobile device to carry
digital money. The product is under the pre-paid instruments guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India.
Card holders will be able to move money from connected bank accounts to the device through the online
mode and then will be able to make payments offline through near-field communication technology or
Bluetooth function.
The bank account will be integrated to the device and even if someone does not have a smartphone, he can
walk up to any merchant or person who has a smartphone with the Purse app and through Bluetooth function
will be able to transfer money from bank account to the device and the other way around. This feature has
been named Palm ATM.
Currently more than 80% transactions in India are done through cash, which is not part of any record. Digital
payments will enable analysis of transaction data which will create a credit history and will allow them to
avail credit. Unlike debit or credit card transactions which attract charges such as merchant discount ratio,
the company would not charge any cost for peer to peer transactions made through the digital Purse.
Consolidated revenue for the Half Year was at Rs. 185cr vs. Rs. 169cr for H1 FY16. Overall Revenue in
foreign currency for the Half Year was at US$ 27.6 mn vs. US$ 26.5 mn for the corresponding half
year of the previous year. Revenue contribution from the top 5 clients stood at 48% vs. 41%.
Products revenue for the Half Year was at Rs. 144cr, against Rs. 125cr for the corresponding half year
of the previous year. Revenue from projects and services for the Half Year was at Rs. 41.3 crore,
against Rs. 44.7 crore.
EBITDA for the half year, EBITDA was at Rs. 23.3cr, (12.6% of revenue), against Rs. 6cr, (3.5% of
revenue) in the corresponding half year of the previous year. India business witnessed sharp
turnaround and posted good operating profits against loss in PY H1 FY16.
Net profit for the half year was at Rs. 24.5cr against Rs. 11.3cr. Total other Income for the half year
was Rs.12.6cr against Rs. 14.7cr.
In terms of foreign currency hedges, on Sep 30, company had USD 6.37 million dollars of forward
contracts at an average rate of 68.7. There was mark-to-market (MTM) gain of Rs. 63lakhs which
company has taken to hedging reserve in the balance sheet.
The order book position was Rs. 334cr including Rs. 298cr of products business and Rs. 36cr of
projects and services business. In June 30, 2016 the order book position was Rs. 370cr including Rs.
325cr of products business and Rs. 45cr of projects and services business.
Total Cash and cash equivalents as on Sep 30, 2016 were at Rs. 412cr against Rs. 394cr as on June
30, 2016. This includes balances in current accounts of Rs. 25cr, liquid fund schemes of mutual funds
Rs. 161cr, Rs. 32cr in fixed maturity plans, fixed deposits with banks of Rs.74cr, investments in Tax
free bonds of Rs. 77cr and Rs. 42cr in Preference shares. Company spends 6-7% of revenues into
R&D for its products and new products development. Furthermore, cash would be utilised to explore
attractive inorganic opportunities.
Domestic business account for 25% revenues for the company and exports contributed the balance.
Geographically the company is well diversified with an equally strong presence across markets like Far East,
South East Asia, India, Middle East, Africa, America, Europe / UK etc. In order to drive its growth, it is also
planning to increase its presence in the markets where they have done less product implementations. The
company has also entered into countries like Australia and New Zealand through wholly owned subsidiary.
New product launches going ahead would drive the growth momentum in revenues & profitability. Nucleus
has developed innovative mobility solutions (mServe, mCash, mCollect), which is getting good response from
existing customers due to its ability to reduce the total transaction time significantly for banks which may
lead to better ROEs. Though the ticket size is small, it would add to the companys revenues and profits.
Stock trades at extremely attractive valuations of ~1x FY19E EV/Revenue & 6.2x EV/EBITDA
Nucleus has posted just 3.5% revenue cagr over FY14-16 as it went under transformation / investment
phase. It posted 9% decline in revenues from Projects & Services segment, while products business posted
4.7% cagr over the same period. In FY16, company posted EBITDA margin of 8.5%, lowest in the last eight
years. The pressure in margin was largely due to lack of ramp up in revenues and surge in operating costs.
However, company posted 10% revenue growth along with sharp margin improvement in H1 FY17 (from
3.7% in H1 FY16 to 12.9% in H1 FY17). We believe company to continue the growth momentum and expect
to post 14% revenue cagr over FY16-19E mainly driven by its products business. We forecast 870bps margin
surge over the same period. Strong operational show would lead to 37% PAT cagr over FY16-19E. We expect
company to post Rs 25 EPS for FY19.
Total Cash and cash equivalents as on Sep 30, 2016 were at Rs. 412cr which turns out to be Rs 127 per
share cash in the balance sheet. Company is sitting on cash to explore attractive inorganic opportunities. For
product companies like Nucleus, earnings could be lumpy. So, we value them on EV/Revenues and
EV/EBIDTA basis. Currently, Nucleus trades at 1x FY19E EV/Revenue and 6.2x FY19E EV/EBITDA. Different
companies have different prospects and different addressable markets. However, we find that Nucleus is
available at quite an attractive valuations compared to peers. If Payse innovation works at a larger scale,
Nucleus can be an enormous wealth creator.
We recommend investors to buy the stock at CMP and add on declines near Rs 225, with targets of Rs 328
and Rs 380 over the next 4-6 quarters, based upon ~1.6x FY19E EV/Revenues which implies 53% upside
potential from current levels.
Significant overseas presence exposes Nucleus to the risk of adverse forex fluctuations. Sharp rupee
appreciation could impact the companys revenues and margins significantly.
Company faces the risk of product liability claim in case of failure of product (as
represented to be suitable for customer requirement) or incorrect consulting advice. Further measures
to dissuade outsourcing of IT services by developed countries could lead to higher cost, thereby affecting
margins.
Companys competitors range in size from Fortune 100 companies to small, specialized singleproduct
businesses. In addition, it also competes with numerous smaller local companies in the various
geographic markets in which it operates. These competitive pressures may impact sales volumes, pricing
power, and/or increased operating costs, such as for marketing and sales incentives, resulting in lower
revenue, gross margins, and operating income.
Slowdown in the IT spends could slow down the growth of products business and in turn impact
companys revenue growth and margins (product is a high margin business).
Rs Cr
80
Rs Cr
250
60
200
40
150
100 20
50 0
FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17E FY18E FY19E FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17E FY18E FY19E
Source: Company, HDFC sec Research Source: Company, HDFC sec Research
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17E FY18E FY19E
%
12
32
17
15
25
%
14 19
16
12
39
Price Chart
325
275
225
175
125
75
25
Apr-16
Sep-16
May-16
Jun-16
Feb-16
Jul-16
Oct-16
Nov-16
Dec-15
Jan-16
Mar-16
Aug-16
Rating Definition:
Rating Chart
R HIGH
E
T
MEDIUM
U
R
N LOW
LOW MEDIUM HIGH
RISK
Ratings Explanation:
Disclaimer:
This report has been prepared by HDFC Securities Ltd and is meant for sole use by the recipient and not for circulation. The information and opinions contained herein have been compiled or
arrived at, based upon information obtained in good faith from sources believed to be reliable. Such information has not been independently verified and no guaranty, representation of
warranty, express or implied, is made as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. All such information and opinions are subject to change without notice. This document is for information
purposes only. Descriptions of any company or companies or their securities mentioned herein are not intended to be complete and this document is not, and should not be construed as an
offer or solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.
This report is not directed to, or intended for display, downloading, printing, reproducing or for distribution to or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident or located in any
locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, reproduction, availability or use would be contrary to law or regulation or what would subject HDFC Securities
Ltd or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement within such jurisdiction.
If this report is inadvertently send or has reached any individual in such country, especially, USA, the same may be ignored and brought to the attention of the sender. This document may not
be reproduced, distributed or published for any purposes without prior written approval of HDFC Securities Ltd .
Foreign currencies denominated securities, wherever mentioned, are subject to exchange rate fluctuations, which could have an adverse effect on their value or price, or the income derived
from them. In addition, investors in securities such as ADRs, the values of which are influenced by foreign currencies effectively assume currency risk.
It should not be considered to be taken as an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security. HDFC Securities Ltd may from time to time solicit from, or perform broking, or other services for,
any company mentioned in this mail and/or its attachments.
HDFC Securities and its affiliated company(ies), their directors and employees may; (a) from time to time, have a long or short position in, and buy or sell the securities of the company(ies)
mentioned herein or (b) be engaged in any other transaction involving such securities and earn brokerage or other compensation or act as a market maker in the financial instruments of the
company(ies) discussed herein or act as an advisor or lender/borrower to such company(ies) or may have any other potential conflict of interests with respect to any recommendation and
other related information and opinions.
HDFC Securities Ltd, its directors, analysts or employees do not take any responsibility, financial or otherwise, of the losses or the damages sustained due to the investments made or any
action taken on basis of this report, including but not restricted to, fluctuation in the prices of shares and bonds, changes in the currency rates, diminution in the NAVs, reduction in the
dividend or income, etc.
HDFC Securities Ltd and other group companies, its directors, associates, employees may have various positions in any of the stocks, securities and financial instruments dealt in the report, or
may make sell or purchase or other deals in these securities from time to time or may deal in other securities of the companies / organizations described in this report.
HDFC Securities or its associates might have managed or co-managed public offering of securities for the subject company or might have been mandated by the subject company for any other
assignment in the past twelve months.
HDFC Securities or its associates might have received any compensation from the companies mentioned in the report during the period preceding twelve months from the date of this report
for services in respect of managing or co-managing public offerings, corporate finance, investment banking or merchant banking, brokerage services or other advisory service in a merger or
specific transaction in the normal course of business.
HDFC Securities or its analysts did not receive any compensation or other benefits from the companies mentioned in the report or third party in connection with preparation of the research
report. Accordingly, neither HDFC Securities nor Research Analysts have any material conflict of interest at the time of publication of this report. Compensation of our Research Analysts is not
based on any specific merchant banking, investment banking or brokerage service transactions. HDFC Securities may have issued other reports that are inconsistent with and reach different
conclusion from the information presented in this report. Research entity has not been engaged in market making activity for the subject company. Research analyst has not served as an
officer, director or employee of the subject company. We have not received any compensation/benefits from the Subject Company or third party in connection with the Research Report.
HDFC Securities Ltd. is a SEBI Registered Research Analyst having registration no. INH000002475
HDFC securities Limited, I Think Techno Campus, Building - B, "Alpha", Office Floor 8, Near Kanjurmarg Station, Opp. Crompton Greaves, Kanjurmarg
(East), Mumbai 400 042
HDFC securities Limited, 4th Floor, Above HDFC Bank, Astral Tower, Nr. Mithakali 6 Road, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009, Gujarat.