Infosys Beats Street Estimates With 6% Q3 Profit; Stock Jumps 5%

Infosys posted a stellar set of numbers that exceeded analyst expectations in a traditionally weak quarter.

• Infosys posted a net profit of $524 m vs $522 m YoY; revenue jumped 8.5 percent to $2.41 bn.
  
• In rupee terms, net profit rose 6.6 percent to Rs 3,465 crore on revenue of Rs 15,902 crore, which was up 15.3 percent from last year.
  
• FY16 revenue was raised to 12.8-13.2 percent in constant currency terms.
  
• Actual revenue growth is expected between 8.9-9.3 percent.
  
• Shares of Infosys surged as much as 5 percent in early morning trade on the BSE.
  

Days after current market leader Tata Consultancy Services posted third quarter numbers which missed analyst estimates, Infosys sets the stage for a strong comeback after years of listless financial performance. India’s second largest software exporter posted a stellar set of numbers that exceeded analyst expectations in a traditionally weak quarter. The IT major also raised its full-year guidance.

Shares of Infosys surged as much as 5 percent in early morning trade on the BSE on Thursday.

FY16 revenue was raised to 12.8-13.2 percent in constant currency terms. Actual revenue growth is expected between 8.9-9.3 percent.

For the October-December quarter, Infosys posted a net profit of $524 million, compared with $522 million in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped 8.5 percent to $2.41 billion. A Bloomberg survey of 28 analysts forecast the company to report revenue of $2.36 billion in the quarter. On a sequential basis, revenue grew 0.6 percent.

In rupee terms, net profit rose 6.6 percent to Rs 3,465 crore on revenue of Rs 15,902 crore, which was up 15.3 percent from last year.

In October, Infosys had lowered their annual guidance to 6.4-8.4 percent in US dollar terms, while maintaining their constant-currency revenue guidance of 10-12 percent.

We are seeing Infoscions becoming innovators, bringing innovation and client value to each individual project. This confidence can only come from a culture of learning and empowerment, and this is the kind of company we are endeavoring to create.

Vishal Sikka, CEO, Infosys

Prior to this quarter, a resurgent Infosys had posted its strongest set of numbers in the June and September quarters, raising investor hopes of an imminent turnaround of its fortunes under Sikka.

Infosys—which was until recently a troubled software company that constantly underperformed the Street’s and its own growth expectations—started recovering over the last few quarters under the leadership of CEO Sikka who took charge in mid-2014.

Since taking charge, Sikka has been pushing the company to shift tack to adopt latest technologies and create intellectual property-driven solutions offering, as against the traditional way of solving problems using manpower.