Infosys Q1 net profit up 21 pc

Bangalore, Jul 11: Despite the slow down in the global economy, especially in the United States, IT major Infosys Technology today announced a 28.7 surge in its revenue for the first Quarter of this fiscal at Rs 4854 crore.

Despite the Rupee losing its sheen in the recent months, the growth in the net profit of the export-driven technology major remained moderate at Rs 1302 crore, denoting an increase of 20.7 per cent over the corresponding period last year. The Earning Per Share(EPS) was put at Rs 22.75 from Rs 18.89 in the corresponding quarter. ''Although the global economic environment continues to remain uncertain and could impact spending in short-term, we see several opportunities for growth as customers relentlessly focus on improving efficiency, S Gopalakrishnan, CEO and Managing Director said.

Confident of maintaining the present growth, Mr Gopalakrihnan said, Infosys has set a income guidance of Rs 5229 crore and Rs 5272 crore for the second quarter ending September 30 with a growth of 27.4 per cent and 28.4 per cent. It would be 1215 million Dollars and 1225 million Dollars with a growth rate calculated at 18.9 per cent and 19.9 per cent.

Outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, the company expects the income to be in the range of Rs 21,278 and Rs 21,622 with a Year on Year growth of 27.5 per cent and 29.5 per cent. In Dollar terms it is likely to be in the range of USD 4.97 billion and 5.05 billion, he said.

EPS was expected to be between Rs 99.34 and Rs 101.06, a growth of 21.9 per cent and 24 per cent.

Infosys and its subsidiaries added 49 new clients during the quarter, while there was a gross addition of 7182 employees (net 3192). Now the second biggest Indian IT company in the country has 94,379 employees on its rolls as on June 30.

A special competency group devoted to developing spacialised products had been set up to enhance the business value provided by Infosys and support the customers on their transformational journey, the CEO said.

Chief Operating Officer S D Shibulal said the pricing environment continued to remain stable during the quarter. End-to-end services combined with Infosys' consulting capabilities position it as a transformational partner for its large clients, he added.

Infosys Chief Finance Officer(CFO) V Balakrishnan said margins for the quarter were impacted due to increase in salary and visa costs, which to some extent, were off-set by rupee depreciation. ''We believe that the currency market will remain volatile in the short-term,'' he added.

Mr Balakrishnan said cash and cash equivalents, including investments in liquid mutual funds was at Rs 7564 crore as on June 30, compared to Rs 6442 at the end of the corresponding period last year.

During the quarter the company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 337 crore (Rs 336 crore during last quarter), while operating cash flow during the quarter was Rs 1249 crore (Rs 932 crore), the CFO added.

T V Mohandas Pai, Head of HR and Director claimed, hiring had been as planned and attrition was under control.

Mr Mohandas said ''We see clear trend of people seeking opportunities with companies like Infosys, which can offer them long-term sustainable careers. This has considerably enhanced the pool of talent for high-growth sections of the business.'' Infosys BPO won recognition from customers and Industry bodies for its service excellence. It was declared 'Provider of the Year' in the large enterprises category by FAO Today magazine for second consecutive year.

The IT major's banking solution Finacle won a strategic partnership with BBVA, as one of the top 15 banks in the globe and one of the largest banks in Asia Pacific was implementing Finacle.

During the quarter, Infosys applied for an aggregate 30 patents in the US and India. With this, it has filed an aggregate of 149 patent applications (pending) in both countries and had been granted two patents by the U Patent and Trademark office.

UNI