Infosys Q3 net profit jumps 31%, meets forecasts

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2006 09:50:11 AM]

IT major Infosys Technologies reported on Wednesday a 31 per cent rise in its Q3 net profit, while meeting the expectations for the quarter. The company said that its net profit surged to Rs 642 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2005, as compared to Rs 496 crore in the year-ago quarter. Infosys' total income rose to Rs 2,396 crore in Q3 December 2005, from Rs 1,845 crore in December 2004 quarter. Infosys' CEO, president and managing director, Nandan M Nilekani, said after the result announcement, "We have seen another quarter of steady growth and our initiatives in strategic alignment, capability building and operational excellence are all on track." On consolidated basis, India's second largest software exporter after TCS, reported net profit after tax and exceptional item and minority interest of Rs 649 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2005, up from Rs 497 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2004. The company's total Income increased from Rs 1,922 crore in Q3-05 to Rs 2,527 crore in the year-ago quarter on consolidated basis. Infosys' Q3-05 results were broadly in-line with the consensus expectations. The company's shares have gained nearly 20 per cent in the past quarter. While announcing its business outlook for the current quarter and fiscal year ending March 2006, the company said on Wednesday that it expects its total income to be in the range of Rs 2,590 crore and Rs 2,599 crore with a yoy growth of 30.35 per cent - 30.80 per cent in the quarter ending March 31, 2006. The company has forecasted earnings per share before exceptional items between Rs 24.30 and Rs 24.70, with yoy growth of 27.83 per cent - 29.93 per cent. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, the company has forecasted total income to be in the range of Rs 9,487 crore and Rs 9,496 crore, with yoy growth of 33.10 per cent - 33.20 per cent. The company has forecasted earnings per share before exceptional items to be between Rs 89.90 and Rs 90.30, with yoy growth of 30.69 per cent - 31.27 per cent for the current fiscal year. While announcing the outlook under the US GAAP method, Infosys has forecasted consolidated revenue in the range of $585 mn and $584 mn, with yoy growth of 27.91 per cent - 28.35 per cent for the quarter ending March 31, 2006. The company has forecasted Q4-06 consolidated earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) between $0.55 and $0.56, with yoy growth of 17.02 per cent - 19.15 per cent. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, the company has forecasted consolidated revenues to be $2.14 bn; with growth of 34.59 per cent, and consolidated earnings per ADS to be between $2.04 and $2.05, with a growth of 29.94 per cent - 30.57 per cent.