Infy disappoints investors; shares down

MYSORE, INDIA: Infosys Ltd, India's No. 2 software services exporter, which narrowly missed expectations in its first quarter profit, maintained its revenue forecast for the year to March 2012. But the investors were not happy with the forecast, thus resulting in the shares of the IT bellwether coming down by 5 per cent.

For the first quarter of the financial year, Infosys reported a net profit of Rs. 1,722 crore.

At 11.20 am IST, Infosys shares stood at Rs. 2,769.75, down by Rs. 149.25 (-5.11 per cent), after the company reported a 15.4 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit compared to the year-ago quarter.

Infosys expects the revenues for the quarter ending September 30, 2011 to be in the range of Rs. 7,699 crore and Rs. 7,810 crore, showing a Y-o-Y growth of 10.8 to 12.4 per cent. Earnings per share (EPS) is expected to be in the range of Rs. 29.64 and Rs.30.15, Y-oY decline of 2.5 per cent to 0.9 per cent.

Also read: Infosys Q4 net profit up 13.7 per cent

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, revenues are expected to be in the range of Rs. 31,777 crore and Rs. 32,311 crore showing a Y-o-Y growth of 15.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent. EPS is expected to be in the range of Rs. 128.20 and Rs. 130.08, with a Y-o-Y growth of 7.3 per cent to 8.9 per cent.

According to the regulatory filing, as on June 30, 2011, cash and cash equivalents of Infosys, including investments in available-for-sale financial assets and certificates of deposits, was Rs. 16,969 crore compared to Rs. 16,005 crore as on June 30, 2010.

“We continue to focus on high-quality growth balancing both revenue growth and margins,” said V. Balakrishnan, Member of the Board and chief financial officer. “We are making the right investments to position ourselves as the partner of choice for large global clients.”