BANGALORE, April 13 (Reuters) – Infosys Ltd,
India’s second-largest software services exporter, reported a
27.4 percent rise in quarterly net profit, meeting forecast,
after customers ramped up orders to cut operational costs.
Bangalore-based Infosys said on Friday consolidated net
profit for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 rose to
23.16 billion rupees ($449 million) from 18.18 billion rupees a
year earlier.
Analysts had forecast a net profit of 23.18 billion rupees
for the company, whose customers include Procter & Gamble Co
and Volkswagen AG, according to Thomson
Reuters data.
Infosys and its bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
, part of India’s $100 billion information technology
and back-office services outsourcing sector, have benefited from
cost-conscious customers bumping up demand.
An uncertain global economy and rising U.S. rhetoric against
shipping of jobs to low-cost locations ahead of the November
presidential election are, however, concerns for the sector that
gets half its revenue from the world’s largest economy.
Tata Consultancy, Infosys and No. 3 exporter Wipro
are also facing increased competition from bigger global rivals
such as IBM and Accenture for a bigger share of
the outsourcing business.
Reflecting the concerns on the outlook, shares in Infosys,
which has a market value of $31 billion, are down 0.6 percent
this year, compared with a 3 percent gain in the sector index
and 12 percent rise in the broader market.
