MUMBAI (AFP) – Indian outsourcing behemoth Infosys approved a USD1 billion share buyback yesterday after strong quarterly profits that reflected sustained demand for digital services.
Tech companies have benefitted from higher digital services demand since the pandemic, and India’s second-largest IT company has kept a robust balance sheet despite labour competition driving up sector salaries.
Net profit rose 11 per cent year-on-year to INR60.21 billion (USD731.4 million) in the September quarter. Revenues were up 23.4 per cent for the same period, helped by strong demand in North America and Europe.
“While concerns around the economic outlook persist, our demand pipeline is strong as clients remain confident in our ability to deliver the value they seek,” Chief Executive Salil Parekh said in a statement.
The Bangalore-headquartered company reported large deals of USD2.7 billion for the quarter, its best result in nearly two years and up USD1 billion from the June quarter.
Its board approved plans to buy back shares worth INR93 billion (USD1.13 billion) at INR1,850 per share, a 30-per-cent premium to yesterday’s closing price.
Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy said the board had approved an open market share buyback of INR93 billion (USD1.14 billion) in its meeting before the results announcement.
Infosys also reported a marginally lower employee attrition rate – a key metric for IT companies – compared to the previous quarter.
Competition for employees has increasingly driven up salaries and weighed on operating margins of Indian technology companies.
“While supply side challenges are gradually abating as reflected in the reducing attrition rates, they continue to exert pressure on our cost structure,” Roy said.
Infosys is India’s second-largest information technology company and earns more than 60 per cent of its revenues from North American markets.
It was at the forefront of an outsourcing boom that saw India become a back office to the world as Western firms subcontracted work to a skilled English-speaking workforce.
Shares in Infosys closed 0.64 per cent lower in Mumbai ahead of the earnings announcement.