Infosys Reports 18% Higher Profits

Infosys Technologies Ltd., India’s bellwether information technology outsourcing company, beat expectations Friday with an 18 percent rise in quarterly profit in dollar terms on strong global demand for low cost outsourcing services.

Net profit was 17.4 billion rupees ($374 million) for the July-September quarter, up 14.7 percent in dollar terms from the prior quarter. Revenues were 69.5 billion rupees ($1.5 billion), up 29.6 percent in dollar terms from the same period last year and up 10.2 percent from the prior quarter.

Both measures beat analyst expectations in dollar terms. Analysts had expected net profit of $346.5 million and revenue of $1.4 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

The company said revenues this fiscal year ending March would grow 24.0 percent to 25.0 percent in dollar terms, to between $5.95 billion and $6 billion. It offered more muted guidance in rupee terms of 18.5 percent to 19.4 percent growth, due to a strengthening rupee against the dollar.

The company added a net 7,646 employees during the quarter, bringing its headcount to 122,468 as Indian outsourcing companies scramble to hire and retain staff amid a revival in demand.

Infosys shares hit a record high of 3228.0 rupees on Thursday, before closing up 1.1 percent at 3,184.25 rupees in advance of the results.

As markets opened Friday, Infosys shares dropped 0.9 percent to 3,156.2 rupees.

ERIKA KINETZ, AP Business Writer MUMBAI, India