Infosys ups guidance, shares up 17%

Infosys shares surged 17 per cent on Friday following the company's better-than-expected quarterly profit. The IT bellwether also raised its revenue forecast for the 2012-13 fiscal.

The stock was the top performer among the index-based bluechips on both the benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty. Infosys shot up by Rs 392.25 to close at Rs 2,712.60.

"Results were extraordinary and ahead of market expectations. After couple of disappointing quarter the company has delivered a positive result on almost all fronts. Also, the management comments were positive. All these factors are driving the stock up," said Ashika Stock Brokers Research Head, Paras Bothra.

Infosys reported a marginal drop of 0.12 per cent in net profit to Rs 2,369 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, in the 2012-13 fiscal.

However, the revenues (including that of acquired Swiss firm Lodestone) for the reported quarter were up 12.1 per cent to Rs 10,424 crore from Rs 9,298 crore in the year-ago period.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,372 crore for the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal (2011-12).

After slashing its revenue forecast earlier this fiscal, Infosys raised its rupee revenue forecast to at least Rs 40,746 crore (from Rs 39,582 crore earlier) and dollar revenue to $7.45 billion (from $7.34 billion).

"We have done well in this quarter despite an uncertain environment. We continue to gain confidence from a strong pipeline of large deals," Infosys CEO and Managing Director S D Shibulal said.

Rise in Infosys shares also sparked a rally in other IT stocks. The 30-scrip BSE Sensex ended almost unchanged on Friday.

Wth PTI inputs