Tech firm Persistent Systems has reported an 18.5 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 101.9 crore for the September 2020 quarter.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 86 crore in the year-ago period.

The company has also appointed Sandeep Kalra as its new CEO with effect from October 23, 2020, a statement said.

Revenue from operations increased 13.9 percent to Rs 1,007.7 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 884.6 crore in the year-ago period, it added. In dollar terms, the company's revenue grew 8.4 percent to USD 136.09 million during the quarter, from USD 125.51 million in the same period a year ago.

"It is tremendously gratifying that as we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we see renewal and rejuvenation of the energy and ingenuity that are hallmarks of Persistent. We hit significant milestones, for the first time ever exceeding Rs 1,000 crore in revenue and Rs 100 crore in profit in one quarter," Anand Deshpande, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Persistent Systems said.

Sandeep Kalra, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at Persistent Systems, said the company delivered yet another strong quarter on the back of our strong first quarter. "Our continued focus on delivery excellence and expanding the value of our expertise across our accounts were the key drivers for this growth... The trust placed in me by the board and Anand to be the CEO inspires me to lead the team to continued new heights and advance Persistent's growth and leadership in the market," he added.

Kalra had joined Persistent in May 2019 as Executive Director and President of the Technology Services Unit (TSU), responsible for setting the strategic direction as well as managing the sales and delivery functions for the unit.

Under his leadership, the unit delivered consistent growth and profit improvement throughout his tenure.

In addition, he played a key role in defining the strategy and execution plan for the company during the most significant period of growth the company has seen in some time, the statement said. The company's headcount at the end of the September 2020 quarter was at 10,820.