Reacting to
better-than-expected third quarter results, Infosys CEO and Managing Director S D Shibulal on Friday said "we have done well in this quarter despite an uncertain environment. We continue to gain confidence from a
strong pipeline of large deals ."
"During the quarter, Infosys won eight large deals, amounting to over $700 million," Shibulal said.
Shibulal expressed
caution on the broader economic environment saying it "remains challenging".
INTERVIEW: 'M&A not a direct answer to growth'"US is going through various challenges, banking and finance is going through various regulatory challenges, Europe is unstable. Mid quarter, we faced headwinds like extended furloughs and superstorm Sandy... We remain cautiously optimistic about the January-March quarter," Shibulal said.
Backed by strong a business pipeline, IT giant Infosys posted net profit of Rs 2,369 crore for the October-December quarter and raised its
annual revenue forecast that sent shares soaring nearly 15 per cent.
Infosys scrip opened on a positive note, welcoming the results, and surged 16.09 per cent to Rs 2,693.80 at 1150 hrs.
PERSPECTIVE: Infosys eyes lost mojo in Lodestone buyThough net profit was down marginally compared to Rs 2,372 crore in the same period last year, revenues (including that of acquired Swiss firm Lodestone) were up 12.1 per cent to Rs 10,424 crore.
Revenues stood at Rs 9,298 crore in the year-ago period.
This (client) addition has been one of the highest in the last few quarters, he said, adding that the net addition was 25 clients which excludes Lodestone.
In dollar terms, profit dipped by 5.2 per cent to $434 million in the reported quarter, but revenues were up by 5.8 per cent to $1,911 million in the quarter under review.
2013 OUTLOOK: Infy sees a better year ahead for IT industryThe company has raised its sales forecast for FY13 to be "at least $7.45 billion" (from $7.34 billion stated earlier), including $104 million in additional revenue from Lodestone. This is about 6.5 per cent growth over last year.
Infosys had guided to a dollar revenue growth of 8-10 per cent at the start of the fiscal, but later slashed it to five per cent, citing uncertain economic environment.
MUST READ: Guidance reports hold vital clues for investors "Results were extraordinary and ahead of market expectations. After couple of disappointing quarters, Infosys has delivered a positive result on almost all fronts. Also, the management comments were positive. All these factors are driving the stock up,"
Analysts had expected Infosys to further cut its annual sales growth after the company warned last month that US clients were cutting back on projects and there were delays in deal signing.
The $100 billion Indian IT-BPO sector gets about 80 per cent of its revenues from the US and and Europe.
October-December quarter is traditionally weak as the number of working days are fewer. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will announce its third quarter results on January 14, followed by HCL Technologies and Wipro on January 17 and 18.
With PTI inputs
Infosys CEO and Managing Director S D Shibulal 
Special 
