Infosys Q4 profit at Rs1,818 crore; announces dividend of Rs 20

Information technology (IT) bellwether Infosys today reported nearly 14% in consolidated net profit at Rs1,818 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, which is less than the market expectations.

Also, the board has declared a final dividend of Rs20 per share for the fiscal on every share of Rs5 held.

The country's second largest software major had a net profit of Rs1,600 crore in the March quarter of the previous fiscal (2009-10), Infosys Technologies said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

However, analysts said the market was expecting 3.3-6.7% growth in Infosys' consolidated net profit between Rs1,839.40 crore-Rs1,899.20 crore in the quarter ended March 31.

Income from software services, products and business process management rose to Rs7,250 crore for the fourth quarter from Rs5,944 crore in the year-ago period, up 22%.

The company while announcing its third quarter results earlier had given Q4 revenue guidance in the range of Rs7,157- Rs 7,230 crore, and anticipated revenue for the full year ending March 31, 2011, in the range of Rs27,408-Rs27,481 crore.

Reacting to the results announcement, the company shares were trading at Rs3,062, down 7.38% over the previous close on BSE.

Further, as on March 31, 2011, cash and cash equivalents, including investments in available-for-sale financial assets and certificates of deposits was Rs16,810 crore against Rs15,819 crore as on March 31, 2010.

"We expect the demand environment to be normal this year for the industry. We have created a structure with strong customer driven  vertical focus and have enhanced our investment to take advantage of the opportunities we see in the market," said Infosys CEO and managing director S Gopalakrishnan.

The company expects revenue in the range of Rs7,311-Rs7,382 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2011, and in the range of Rs31,727-Rs32,270 crore for the financial year FY'12.

For the year ended March 31, the IT bellwether posted a consolidated net profit of Rs6,823 crore, up nearly 10% over the year-ago period.

During the fiscal, income from software services, products and business process management rose to Rs27,501 crore from Rs22,742 crore in the previous fiscal (2009-10).

"We have realigned our strategic focus to enable our clients to build their enterprises of tomorrow. We continue to make investments towards strengthening our transformational, operational and innovation capabilities," Infosys chief operating officer SD Shibulal said.

Meanwhile, TV Mohandas Pai, director human resources, has resigned from the board of the company with effect from June 11.

Infosys, which has Goldman Sachs, BT Group and BP Plc among its clients, added 34 clients during the quarter.

At the end of March 31, the company had 1,30,820 employees, which includes a gross addition of 8,930 staff during the fourth quarter.