Infosys shares up 5%; m-cap climbs Rs 11,376 cr post Q3 nos

Mumbai, Jan 9: Infosys stock rose by over 5 per cent today after the company posted results that were above market expectations -- 13 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for its third quarter ended December 31. Following the rally, its market value soared Rs 11,376.22 crore to Rs 2,38,147.22 crore.

The IT major's scrip surged 5.02 per cent to settle at Rs 2,073.60 on the BSE. During the day, it had jumped 6.75 per cent to Rs 2,108. On the NSE, shares of Infosys closed 5.16 per cent higher at Rs 2,075.30.

As for volumes, 11.29 lakh shares of the company changed hands on the BSE, while over one crore shares were traded at the NSE during the day.

Beating expectations, Infosys reported 13 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the third quarter to Rs 3,250 crore, helped by increase in business and clients from North America, as also from India.

"Infosys posted results above market expectations. Profit grew 5 per cent QoQ which gave market sentiments a big boost. On top of all, the IT major maintained its FY 2015 guidance of 7-9% in spite of cross currency movements affecting it," said Hiren Dhakan, Associate Fund manager, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.

The country's second largest software services firm's consolidated revenue rose 5.9 per cent to Rs 13,796 crore in the quarter ended December 31, while it maintained its revenue outlook for the entire fiscal ending March 31.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said, "We are excited by several breakthrough results in Q3. Our 'renew and new' strategy, is being received well by our clients and our ecosystem and we are already seeing its early adoption."

In dollar terms, Infosys posted 12.7 per cent jump in net profit to USD 522 million, while revenue was up 5.6 per cent to USD 2.21 billion in the third quarter.

The company's net profit was higher by 4.9 per cent from Rs 3,096 crore in July-September 2014 quarter, while revenue grew 3.4 per cent from Rs 13,342 crore in the second quarter of fiscal 2014-15.

Meanwhile, buying was also seen in other IT stocks where MindTree gained 4.6 per cent, Tech Mahindra (4.41 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (2.80 per cent), Wipro (1.54 per cent) and HCL Technologies (0.82 per cent).

Led by the gains in these stocks, the BSE IT index ended 3.51 per cent higher at 10,752.26, the most among the 12 sectoral indices. In the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 183.67 points to settle at 27,458.38.

PTI