Infosys surprises: Q3 net, FY13 guidance higher than estimate

Infosys, the country’s second largest software exporter, surprised with a better-than-expected net profit and dollar guidance for FY13. The robust performance of the company comesdespite spending cuts by major clients in the United States. Reacting to the news, the company’s shares surged nearly 12 percent.

The company’s net profit for October-December stood at of Rs 2,369 crore and revenue at Rs 10,424 crore.

A CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated net profit at Rs 2,255 crore and revenue at Rs 10,090 crore.

In the year-ago period, consolidated net profit stood at Rs 2,372 crore.

“We have done well in this quarter despite an uncertain environment,” . D. Shibulal, CEO and Managing Director, of Infosys said in a press release.

“We continue to gain confidence from a strong pipeline of large deals. However,the broader economic environment remains difficult. Even so, we remain cautiously optimistic about the January-March quarter,” he added.

[caption id=“attachment_584336” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] According to a company press release, organic revenue is seen at $7.346 billion against $7.343 billion earlier. AFP[/caption]

Infosys increased its dollar revenue guidance for FY13 to 6.5 percent growth against the earlier 5 percent.

According to a company press release, organic revenue is seen at $7.346 billion against $7.343 billion earlier.

Revenue accrued from Lodestone, the Zurich-based company it acquired in September, was Rs 214 crore.

Its EBIT margin, however, declined to 25.7 percent from 26.3 percent recorded in July-September.

“We were able to maintain our margins through efficiency improvements despite increased operating expenses. We remain focused on making the right investments for profitable and sustainable growth in the longer term,” said Chief Financial OfficerRajiv Bansal was quoted as saying in the release.

The company’s earnings before interest and tax was Rs 2,677 crore, higher than CNBC-TV18’s poll estimate of Rs 2,615 crore.

Its dollar EPS stood at $0.76 as against an expectation of of $0.74.

Consolidated dollar revenue for the quarter stood at $1.911 billion compared with an estimate of $1.87 billion.

At 9:46 a.m, the stock was up 10 percent in the morning trade on the BSE.

“The market was slightly predatory, given that the last two times the company has disappointed, but this time the organic guidance is better… which I think will be taken positively,” Rikesh Parikh, vice-president, markets strategy and equities, Motilal Oswal Securities, told_Reuters_.

“A good start to the season,” he said_._

The company’s good performance boosted expectation that its peers would also have had a better quarter. Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, the country’s top software exporter, were up 3 percent and HCL Technology 1.3 percent.

With inputs from Reuters