Cranes Software International Ltd Management Discussions

(Annexure to Boards 2026-26 Report)

(Note: This discussion covers the consolidated financial performance of Cranes Software International Limited)

Overview:

Cranes Software International Limited (NSE: CRANESSOFT, BSE: 512093), is a global scientific & engineering products, services and solutions provider. The Companys business interests have focused on software products (proprietary products and product alliances), Solutions (Business Data Analytics & Engineering Services) and Services (training in niche domain areas). The company has been dedicated to excellence and recognized leadership in technical software products and training services, with a focus on product development, consulting, distribution and training.

Global Business Environment:

The global Education Technology (EdTech) industry continued to evolve rapidly during FY 2025 26, supported by increasing digital adoption, growing demand for flexible and personalised learning, rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the increasing need for continuous reskilling and upskilling. While the sector has moved beyond the exceptional growth witnessed during the COVID-19 period, digital learning has continued to establish itself as an integral component of education, professional development and workforce training.

The industry has entered a more mature phase, with investors and market participants placing greater emphasis on sustainable revenue growth, operating efficiency, profitability and demonstrable learning outcomes, rather than growth at any cost. Global EdTech investment remained significantly below the pandemic-era peak, reflecting a more selective funding environment.

Artificial Intelligence emerged as one of the most significant forces reshaping the EdTech landscape during FY 2025 26. AI is increasingly being incorporated into learning platforms to enable personalised learning pathways, intelligent tutoring, automated assessments, content generation, learner support and data-driven insights. At the same time, AI is creating new demand for education and training, as organizations and individuals seek to develop AI literacy and job-specific capabilities. This is creating a dual opportunity for EdTech companies using AI to improve the delivery and economics of learning while simultaneously providing AI-focused learning and upskilling programmes.

Business Strategy and Operational Performance Overview

The Company has continued to build on its core business strengths, drawing from its strong legacy, industry recognition, deep domain competencies, and long-standing customer relationships. Over the past year, the Management has effectively employed strategic planning and execution, with a clear focus on capital infusion and strategic collaborations. These initiatives have resulted in notable improvements in operational efficiency, profit margins, and market expansion. Cranes has also demonstrated resilience in the face of pandemic-related challenges, achieving significant stability and growth. By leveraging its legacy in Ed-Tech and enhancing its Hybrid Training capabilities, the Company has successfully adapted to evolving business dynamics and emerging market demands.

Core Business highlights for FY 2025-26: -

• International Collaborations Partnered with FPT Academy International, Vietnam, to launch international certification programs in Automotive Software Development and Data Science with Artificial Intelligence, with approximately 240 students enrolled in these programs, strengthening our global academic and industry engagement.

• Future Skills Partnership Partnered with FutureSkills, powered by NASSCOM, to deliver industry-aligned online training programs focused on bridging the industry academia skill gap. 576 students have benefited from these programs, gaining exposure to relevant skills and emerging technologies.

• Academic Training Conducted large-scale campus training programs across leading engineering institutions, reaching approximately 3,088 students and delivering significant industry-oriented skill development.

• Faculty Development Programs (FDPs) Successfully conducted FDPs for 15 colleges across India, enabling faculty members to enhance their knowledge and stay updated with emerging technologies and industry trends.

• Student Training Programs Trained 336 students, including graduates, working professionals, and undergraduates, through our Business-to-Consumer (B2C) programs, with a focus on building industry-relevant skills across core engineering domains.

• Corporate Training Programs Trained 1,166 professionals across diverse corporate clients, including leading Global Capability Centers (GCCs), Fortune 500 companies, and major IT organizations, delivering industry-relevant upskilling and technology-focused training.

• Overall Learner Reach Cranes Varsity has trained over 6,536 learners across diverse verticals, including Colleges, Universities, Corporates, Defence & PSUs, individual learners, and working professionals, demonstrating our extensive reach and strong industry-academia training capabilities.

• Core Focus Domains Our key areas of expertise continue to focus on Embedded Systems, Automotive, Electric Vehicles (EV), IoT, VLSI, AI Engineering, Data Science, AI & Machine Learning (AIML), Cybersecurity, Deep-Tech Robotics, Java, and Python, aligned with evolving industry requirements and emerging technology trends.

• Digital Learning Academy Launched the Digital Learning Academy this FY 2026-27, expanding our digital learning ecosystem and enabling learners to access industry-relevant, technology-focused training through a flexible and scalable learning platform.

Opportunities & Threats:

Over the past year, our Company Management successfully kept the business stabilized and growing despite the wide-spread impact from the pandemic crisis. Management simultaneously continued the push for ‘debt-free & litigation-free settlement of its financial burden from the 2007-08 global downturn. Cranes business IP and assets were creatively leveraged, and capital was strategically infused to stabilize core business operations, while also settling institutional debts, financial liabilities to employees, vendors and partners, and multiple legal, statutory and compliance cases.

Cranes Management actions have preserved the Cranes business, goodwill and legacy for the benefit of our valued stakeholders. Over the past year, OTS resolutions have been achieved for past debts with major banks; one final pending bank loan should be resolved within a few months. The resulting stability and growth of the core Cranes business have validated the strategic evolution of Cranes into an "Assets-Lite and IP-rich" business which strategically leverages its core competencies & legacy in Ed-Tech legacy for emerging Hybrid & Online Training demands.

On a standalone basis, the Companys Cranes Varsity division has recovered well over the past year by reinforcing its market position in the training and education market. Your company has become stabilized and also achieved growth by expanding the scope and reach of its Ed-Tech training, and our placement strengths and portfolios to meet evolving demands of students and corporates; and consolidating our Hybrid Training expertise and programs, as well as collaborations with Knowledge Partners, for growth in the expanding Online training industry. We are also addressing the unique needs of working professionals via innovative evening/weekend courses, targeted placements and novel Train-Hire-Deploy programs.

The Companys balance sheet is fundamentally strengthened by settling lingering corporate debts owed to several large, secured lenders. We have attempted hard to mitigate the large potential risk from pending winding-up and liquidation actions in litigation by CSILs FCCB holders and pending regulatory actions.

Company Management is pleased that your company has strategically been moved to soon become a debt/litigation-free business.

With these strategic moves, your company is poised to actively participate with its sharpened core competencies in the globally expanding Ed-Tech market which, as noted above, is forecast at about $200 billion and growing 15% annually. We are optimistic that the stage is set for Cranes Software to build and grow upon its core Ed-Tech origins and expand this legacy!

Risk Management:

The Company has developed and adopted a Risk Management Policy. This policy identifies perceived risks which might reasonably be expected to impact the operations and possibly threaten the existence of the Company. The Company has laid down well-structured procedures for monitoring the risk management plan and implementing the risk mitigation measures. The strategic risks are taken into consideration in the annual planning process and these risks together with their mitigation plan are subject to review by the management on a regular basis. The business processes risks and the related controls are subject to internal audit and reviews.

Human Resources:

The Company continues to focus on business expansion while limiting the resources deployed to achieve such expansion. The mix of such members consists of Technology Experts, Sales and Marketing personnel.

Internal Control Systems:

Management recognizes the importance of strong internal control systems and processes to support further growth opportunities. We expect to benefit from and build upon the Companys certification under ISO 9001 standards in FY2002 and the subsequent achievements of SEICMM Level 5 during FY 2005, and ISO 27001 Information Security Management System in FY 2006 as well as SEI-CMMi Level 5 assessment for its processes.

Safe Harbor:

Certain statements in this release concerning our growth prospects are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including government actions; local political or economic developments; technological risks; risks inherent in the Companys growth strategy; dependence on certain customers and business partners; dependence on availability of technical consultants and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.