Quarterly numbers prop up Infosys

DALAL STREET SPIKES

Infosys Technologies gained on strong quarterly results and an upward revision of earnings on Tuesday. The stock hit an intra-day high of Rs 1,744.85, before sliding on profit booking at higher levels.

The stock ended at Rs 1,712.25, up 1.6 per cent from Monday's close. More than 9.58 lakh shares changed hands at the counter on Tuesday.

Market analysts said, "The Infosys results were above expectations, resulting in smart gains at the counter. After Monday's poor performance by CMC and MphasiS BFL, the markets were concerned about the earning forecast by frontline IT companies."

Infosys announced that its net profit jumped 51.5 per cent to Rs 454.85 crore compared with Rs 300.16 crore in the same quarter last year. Net profit has beaten market expectations.

Market players were expecting the IT major to report a net profit of between Rs 423 crore and Rs 441 crore.

The company's total income has risen 45.8 per cent to Rs 1,719.79 crore from Rs 1,179.03 crore. Infosys Technologies has also revised upwards both earnings and revenue growth for financial year 2005.