Infosys Q4 net marginally up 3.3 pc at Rs 2,394 cr

Beating estimates marginally, Infosys on Friday reported a jump of 3.3 per cent in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,394 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.

The company in its filing at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said for the reported quarter its revenue was up by 18.09 per cent to Rs 10,454 crore from Rs 8,852 crore in the year-ago period.

"Global economic uncertainties remain challenging for the IT industry," Infosys CEO and Managing Director S D Shibulal said, adding "We are making all the investments necessary to differentiate ourselves in the market place while positioning ourselves as a partner of choice for our clients."

The company said it expects revenue to grow by 6-10 per cent in the current fiscal, which is lower than Nasscom's estimate.

In February this year, software industry body Nasscom said information technology and IT-enabled services sectors are expected to grow 12-14 per cent in 2013-14 fiscal.



Reacting to the results, shares of Infosys plunged 18.47 per cent to Rs 2,379 apiece in early trade on the BSE.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,316 crore for the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal (2011-12).

The Bangalore-based firm's consolidated net profit for the 2012-13 fiscal rose by 13.3 to Rs 9,421 crore against Rs 8,316 crore in the previous financial year.

Its revenues were up by 19.6 per cent to Rs 40,352 crore in the last fiscal from Rs 33,734 crore in 2011-12 fiscal.

"The global currency market continues to be volatile reflecting the uncertain economic environment. Our hedging strategy helps us to minimise the volatility impact. We have a healthy balance sheet with our cash and cash equivalents at USD 4.4 billion," Infosys Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Bansal said.

In dollar terms, profits dipped by 4.1 per cent to USD 444 million in the January-March quarter, but revenues were up by 9 per cent to USD 1.93 billion in the quarter under review.

During the quarter, Infosys added 8,990 (gross) and 1,059 (net) employees taking the total headcount to 1,56,688.