The market had expected a second quarter net of Rs 32 crore, prompting investors to sell the company's shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange. In early trading, the shares were down Rs 41 to Rs 1,377.

Net profit for the first half ended September 30 was Rs 56.58 crore, up 68 per cent from Rs 33.7 crore in the previous first half.

The company said its net profit for the second quarter and the first half included the net profits of three of its subsidiaries--Satyam Enterprise Solutions, Satyam Renaissance and Satyam Spark Solutions--that were merged into the parent in April. The board of directors has recommended an interm dividend of Rs 1.50 per equity share.

During the quarter under review, the company has added 25 new customers and re-trained over 1,000 employees in Java and other Internet-related technical skills, the area which is witnessing rapid growth the world over.

The board also declared results of another group company Satyam Infoway Ltd. It has reported a total revenue of Rs 12.78 crore for the second quarter in the current year as against Rs 1.77 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Satyam Infoway has filed registration statement on Form F-1 with US Securities & Exchange Commission, to facilitate the proposed offer of 4,175,000 American Depositary Shares (ADS).

The proceeds from the issue will be utilised to fund network infrastructure expansion, enhancement and content development for the portal business, said the company statement. Till now, Infoway has extended its Internet service to 27 cities in the country and has a little over 87,000 subscribers.