a strong growth in both, our top-line as well as our bottom-line and have taken significant steps to strengthen our infrastructure. As per Frost and Sullivan, Tulip has further consolidated its leadership position in the MPLS/IP VPN with a market share of 29.66% largely due to continued penetration and expansion in this segment. Subsequently, we have doubled our market share in the entire Enterprise Data Market to 12.7%. Growth in the coming years will be further driven by the optic-fiber roll out in key Central Business Districts (CBDs) across India which should enable us to significantly enhance our market share in the Enterprise Data Market, as well as help us become an end-to-end data connectivity provider.

During the year, we further expanded our last mile services in the wireless segment of MPLS/ IP VPN. Our combination of a niche infrastructure in 1700 cities and high level of redundancy on all routes has helped us to achieve high uptimes, which has enabled us to consolidate our position as the country's largest wireless data network provider. We have witnessed a growth of 71.2% in the total number of connects which has increased to 200,640 as on 31 March 2009 from 117,176 connects as on 31 March 2008. Further, our customer base has also grown to 1,600. This has translated into buoyant financial performance during the year. In FY2010, revenues were higher by 21.8% at Rs. 19,664 million compared to Rs. 16,144 million last year. Our net profits also witnessed an increase of 9.96% at Rs. 2,755 million from Rs. 2,505.3 million in FY2009. Earnings per share were better at Rs. 94.99 from Rs. 73.7, implying a growth of 9.95%

Our performance in the Data Connectivity segment will provide impetus by the fiber roll-out in 10 key CBDs across India. This will enable us to address 100% of the Data Connectivity market which was earlier limited to VPN on wireless. We believe that just by focusing on key CBDs, we will be able to service ~90% of potential high revenue clients. Additionally, we will be able to provide services such as IPLC, DLC, Corporate Internet and VPN on fiber which would increase our addressable market by five fold. Not only does this initiative enhance our range of product offerings, but also leads us to significant cost savings. Our cost per unit of bandwidth leased in the cities has fallen considerably on account of bulk buying of bandwidth.

Tulip's aim is to fully engage its client by servicing their every data requirement. With this regard, we provide an entire gamut of products and services ranging from networking solutions, to data connectivity and other additional services such as data centers, remote infrastructure management (RIM) and other value added services. This provides Tulip with complete client accountability and allows all connectivity issues to be resolved within a short time frame. With this strategy and reach, we have been successful in acquiring clients from almost every industry vertical like banking, telecoms, retail, media, manufacturing, services, education, healthcare, utilities and government.

The fiscal year 2009-10 has seen Tulip's robust performance, primarily driven by the Enterprise Data Bandwidth segment. Growth in this segment was accompanied by addition of new clients as well as continuing clients up scaling their bandwidth requirements.

This year has also seen the completion of first State Wide Area Network (SWAN) project. SWAN projects are based on government plans to create core common infrastructure to provide connectivity, National/State Data Centers for reliable and secured data and Common Service Centers for delivery of Services. Our project in Haryana is complete and inaugurated by the state government. SWAN project in West Bengal and Assam is close to completion, whilst Madhya Pradesh SWAN project is currently in the process of implementation. The potential from this sector is immense with regards to the data connectivity business by providing bandwidth to these projects. The Company is hopeful of acquiring the bandwidth business from such projects across India which will significantly add to our performance going forward.

During the year, Tulip expanded its Data Center services in Bangalore apart from its existing data centers and the managed services in Delhi and Mumbai. The Company was awarded the ISO 27001 certification for the Data Centers and Network Operation Centers demonstrating our commitment to provide secure and reliable services to our customers.

The combination of ever increasing demand for wireless connectivity and well implemented growth strategies, in terms of fibre roll-out, should assist us to maintain and improve performance going forward. We expect future growth to come through more focus in all geographies along with extending our reach to rural regions. The VPN segment, as reported by Frost Sullivan, is expected to grow at 43.2% CAGR and the Enterprise Data Market is expected to grow by 25.1% CAGR which we consider to be conservative given the rapid growth of the Indian economy and the increasing demand for connectivity. We believe the markets in which we operate will grow at a much faster rate. Our endeavor is to continually adapt in line with technological changes and the changing demands of our clients and potential customers. In our quest to remain up-to-date and in-line with the latest technologies, we have already begun deployment of WiMAX base stations with relative ease and minimal CAPEX. The replaced equipments continue to find its use in areas that require limited bandwidth at this stage, enabling greater utilization of physical assets.

Going forward, data connectivity will become increasingly important as the nation continues to grow at a rapid pace. With many companies looking for connectivity combined with various Central Government initiatives for rural development like National ID Card, NREG program etc., should provide adequate momentum to the Enterprise Data Market with Tulip as the prime beneficiary owing to its vast network connecting over 1,415 cities, portfolio of product offerings and expertise in providing wireless network. This makes Tulip well poised to emerge as a major player in the Enterprise Data Market which should translate into strong earnings performance in the coming years.

Hereby, I take this opportunity, to thank all the shareholders for their continued trust in the Board of Directors and the Management. I would also like to thank our customers and other business associates for their support and co-operation. The Company has been fortunate enough to have had focused leaders, committed and competent employees. I look forward to your continued support in the Company's exciting journey into the future.

Best Wishes

Lt. Col H.S Bedi
Chairman and Managing Director