Bengaluru: Infosys Ltd today reported a better-than-expected 6.6 per cent rise in its third quarter net profit and raised its annual revenue growth forecast, sending its shares up by as much as 5 per cent.
Consolidated net profit rose to Rs 3,465 crore, or Rs 15.16 per share, in October-December as compared to Rs 3,250 crore, or Rs 14.22 a share, in the same period a year ago, Infosys said in a statement.
India’s second-largest software service exporter also raised its annual revenue growth forecast on stronger demand for high-margin automation and other services.
Sales in dollar terms are set to grow between 8.9 per cent and 9.3 per cent in the year ending March 31 as compared with an earlier guidance of 6.4 per cent to 8.4 per cent.
Infosys forecast is in contrast with its bigger rival Tata Consultancy which on Tuesday posted a 0.3 per cent decline in third quarter dollar revenue on seasonal holidays, furloughs in the US and floods in Chennai, and may struggle to end this fiscal year with even an 8 per cent growth.
Infosys Chief Executive Vishal Sikka, who was brought in about one-and-a-half years ago to chart a new strategy, said the strong performance was aided by the firm’s innovative solutions and the new technologies it has adopted.
“This combination helped us deliver encouraging results despite the traditional seasonality of the quarter and the additional headwinds, and will strengthen the execution of our strategy towards consistent profitable growth,” he said.
Consolidated revenues in October-December rose 15.2 per cent to Rs 15,902 crore from Rs 13,796 crore in the year-ago period.
“We have been able to navigate the quarter, better than our earlier expectations,” Infosys Chief Financial Officer M D Ranganath said in the statement. “We will continue to focus on enhancing operational efficiency.”
Shares of Infosys were up 4.96 per cent in afternoon trade at Rs 1,135.50 apiece, after having risen as much as 5.3 per cent earlier, while the benchmark Sensex was down 1.1 per cent. .
PTI