KOCHI: Exalogic Solutions Private Ltd., in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, had a relatively short and uneventful journey. Established in September 2014 as a one-person venture by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, Veena Thaikkandiy, the software company officially ceased operations and transitioned into a dormant state in November 2022.
According to documents submitted to the Registrar of Companies (ROC), Exalogic accumulated a revenue deficit of Rs 67.27 lakh from its eight years of operations ending March 31, 2022, with a cumulative revenue of Rs 3.64 crore for the fiscal years from 2015-16 to 2021-22. A closer examination of the uploaded statements reveals that employee costs emerged as the primary expense component, averaging 70% of total spend during the fiscal years from 2015-16 to 2020-21.
The company’s memorandum of association outlined its objectives, primarily centered around IT and IT-enabled services, including software design, customisation, testing, and maintenance.
Exalogic lists its registered office at No. 21, PID No. 98-50-21, Hebbal Ganganagar Layout. When TNIE visited, the said address turned out to be a vacant plot.
The company had a paid-up capital of Rs 1 lakh, divided into 10,000 shares valued at Rs 10 each.
During its limited lifespan, the company obtained an overdraft of Rs 50 lakh from Dhanlaxmi Bank and a loan of Rs 37.36 lakh from Empower India Capital Investment Private Limited. The loan from Dhanlaxmi Bank was fully repaid by 2021, shortly before the company ceased its operations.
Interestingly, Empower India, located in Kochi, is linked to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd through a common director, Sathivilas Narayanan Kartha Sasidharan, as indicated by documents in public domain.
According to a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), who reviewed the financial statements of the company, it is apparent that employee costs represent a significant portion of the company’s expenses. “From the analysis of the financial statements, it appears that the entity operates as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed for specific purposes with a finite operational lifespan and is gradually nearing its end,” he remarked. “The pattern of growth followed by a subsequent decline in revenues and the lack of correlation in certain figures reported in the audited financial statements supports this inference,” he added.
The documents also reveal a notable surge of 128% in revenue during fiscal year 2017-18, resulting in a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 17.55 lakh. However, revenue experienced a downward trend since fiscal year 2019 -20, plummeting by 95% to Rs 5 lakh in fiscal year 2021-22. Notably, there was a substantial increase in finance costs during fiscal year 2018-19, despite no proportional rise in borrowings. The company’s borrowings primarily consist of loans from the director and bank overdraft during fiscal years 2015-16 to 2020-21.
(With inputs from Praveen Kumar, Bengaluru)