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Infosys has posted flat quarter-on-quarter net profit growth at Rs 2,394 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.
The growth is a marginal 3.4% when compared to Rs 2,316 crore during the same period last year.
The company’s net profit on a sequential basis grew marginally by 1.1% when compared to Rs 2,369 in the third quarter of the FY13.
The consolidated revenue of the Bangalore-based company for the January-March period stood at Rs 10,454 crore, registering a growth of 18.1% as against Rs 8,852 crore during the same period last year.
In dollar terms, the net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 stood at $444 million, registering a Q-o-Q growth of 2.3%, while the revenues for Q4 stood at $1,938 million registering a Q-o-Q growth of 1.4%.
Going forward the company expects its revenues to grow 6-10% for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, lower than Nasscom’s 12-14% industry growth expectations for the fiscal 2013-14.
With the company giving guidance below Nasscom’s expectation, the shares of the company slumped 18.47% in the morning trade on the BSE and was trading at Rs 2,379.
For the full year ended March 31, 2013, the IT major’s net profit stood at Rs 9,421 crore witnessing an increase of 13.28% from Rs 8,316 crore when compared to FY12. The revenues of the company for FY13 registered a growth 19% to Rs 40,352 crore.
“Global economic uncertainties remain challenging for the IT industry,” said S D Shibulal, CEO and Managing Director.
“We are progressing well on our strategic direction of building a high-quality company which is relevant to our clients. We are making all the investments necessary to differentiate ourselves in the market place while positioning ourselves as a partner of choice for our clients,” he added.
The operating profit of the company declined by 6% for the fourth quarter while the Profit Before Income Tax declined 4% Rs 3,136 crore when compared to the same quarter last year. The company also witnessed a significant increase in its sales and marketing expenses and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013. The sales and marketing expenses increased by 14% while administrative expenses witnessed an increase of 21% for the quarter.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, earnings per share (EPS) was Rs 41.89, a Q-o-Q growth of 1%. The Board of Directors recommended a final dividend of Rs 27 per ADS for fiscal 2013.
During the quarter, Infosys and its subsidiaries added 56 clients to its kitty. Infosys and its subsidiaries made a gross addition of 8,990 employees (net addition of 1,059) for the quarter taking the total employee strength to 1,56,688 people as on March 31, 2013.
As part of its new strategy Infosys 3.0, the company has decided to set aside up to $100 million to invest in products, platforms and solutions ideas.
“The global currency market continues to be volatile reflecting the uncertain economic environment. Our hedging strategy helps us to minimise the volatility impact,” said Rajiv Bansal, Chief Financial Officer, Infosys Ltd.
During the fourth quarter, the company has applied for 21 patent applications in India and the US. With this, Infosys has 532 patent applications undergoing various stages of patent prosecution in India, the US and other jurisdictions. The company also said 84 patents were granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and three patents by the Luxembourg patent office.
The company’s liquid assets including cash and cash equivalents, current available-for-sale financial assets, investment in certificates of deposits and government bonds were Rs 23,958 crore as against Rs 22,501 crore in the previous quarter.
