JOIN USInfosys BPO is open to acquisitions to plug in gaps in healthcare and legal process outsourcing (LPO) verticals, its Chief Executive Officer Swami Swaminathan told Deccan Herald.
He said the company has a dedicated M&A team that always scouts to see what fills up their 'white spaces'. “We are focused on certain areas where though we are present, we do not have critical mass.
These would include LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing), and healthcare and some financial services from a vertical perspective,” Swaminathan said.
Its earlier acquisitions include Philips' captive BPO arm in 2007; Insurance BPO McCamish Systems for $38 million in 2009; Australia-based Portland Group for AUD 37 million in 2011 and the outsourcing arm of Marsh & McLennan in 2012.
A subsidiary of Infosys Ltd, the BPO arm grew 16 per cent in terms if net profit, by posting $19.32 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2012 as compared to $16.64 million in the same quarter in 2011.
However, in sequential terms, net profit fell 10 per cent, from $21.61 million in the second quarter ended September 30, 2012. “The company has been making investments and we have made some acquisitions and those costs are being accounted for in the quarter,” Swaminathan added.
Infosys BPO, at present has six centres in India and another 13 centres across the world; Swaminathan said that the company is going to add another five distribution centres by the end of fiscal '13 and is making investments in setting up the centres.
“At least six of our top existing clients have given us more business and thus we are expanding for the existing clients as well. In Q3, we acquired 11 new clients as well,” he said.
The new centres will be set up in Costa Rica, Netherlands, South Africa and a small facility in Tokyo.
Swaminathan also said that the company’s hiring plan of 12,000 employees in fiscal ‘13 is on track and they have already hired 9,560 people.
DH News Service