Infosys Q4 profit up 21%

By agencies   |   Friday, 14 April 2006, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd today reported a 20.6 percent gain in its quarterly net profit, buoyed by a strong orders from overseas clients. Infosys, the first Indian company to list on the Nasdaq, posted a net profit of $152 million in the three months ended March, versus a revised $126 million a year ago. Infosys, which is India’s second largest software services company behind TCS also announced a bonus issue, its ninth, in the ratio of one share for every held. The Bangalore-based firm has been instrumental in raising the global profile of India's export based software industry that depends on a growing army of low-cost, English-speaking engineers. The Indian IT services industry will cloak $23 billion in the year ended March 2006, up more than 30 percent over last year as companies sign longer-term and large-sized contracts. Infosys also said its revenue for the fiscal year exceeded $2 billion for the first time in the company's 25-year history. “It took us 23 years to reach the first billion dollars in revenues while we reached the next billion dollars in 23 months," Nandan Nilekani, the company's chief executive officer and managing director, said in a statement. It said the company earned $2.15 billion in revenue during the year and expected that figure to grow by 28 percent to 30 percent in the fiscal year through March 2007, to between $2.76 billion and $2.8 billion. Infosys said it had attracted 38 new clients in the fourth quarter and that it hired 15,965 people over the past fiscal year and now has a total of 52,715 employees. Also in a senior management reshuffle, Infosys said T V Mohandas Pai will give up his position as CFO from April 30 this year, but will continue to be a member of the board. Pai would be responsible for Human Resources Development (HRD), Education and Research (E&R) and Administration, the company said, while also announcing that V Balakrishnan, currently senior Vice-President, Finance and Company Secretary, would take over as CFO from May 1, 2006. In keeping with his belief that younger people should get strategic opportunities early enough to shape the company, Pai had voluntarily given up his CFO position, Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor N R Narayana Murthy was quoted as saying. “As we continue to scale up, the major challenges for Infosys will be in the HRD and E&R areas. I am glad we have Mohan handling these critical functions,” Murthy said. Hailing the contributions of Pai, Murthy said he was one of the “finest finance professionals” of the country, who was been responsible for several pioneering initiatives in finance at Infosys, including the Nasdaq listings. “He has led his team in setting new standards in financial reporting, corporate governance and compliance.”