Infosys logo.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Bengaluru: India’s second largest IT services provider Infosys reported strong numbers for its October-December quarter (Q3) compared to its peers, on Thursday. Revenue for the Bengaluru-headquartered tech giant rose 7.6% year-on-year to Rs 41,764 crore, surpassing average analysts’ estimates.
“We are seeing a clear change in the discretionary activities in financial services, retail and consumer products, which gives us good confidence. However, we don’t have a view beyond the present fiscal year,” said Salil Parekh, chief executive officer and managing director in the post earnings call.
The company raised its revenue growth guidance for the full financial year (FY25) to 4.5-5% from 3.75%-4.5%. This has been its eighth revision in revenue guidance in the last nine quarters.
On a geographical basis, North America posted a better growth for Infosys at 4.9% on a YoY basis, after four quarters of slow growth, while Europe remained sequentially flat. Meanwhile, profit after tax (PAT) rose 11.4% to 6,806 crore as compared to Rs 6,106 crore for the same period last year.
Infosys added 5,591 employees in Q3. However its attrition stood at 13.7%, much higher than July-September quarter’s 12.9%.
“We are on track to hire around more than 15,000 freshers, however, we do not give an outlook in terms of lateral hiring as it is dependent upon many factors like demand and attrition. We are looking to hire more than 20,000 freshers next year,” said Chief Financial Officer Jayesh Sanghrajka.
Deal wins came in at $2.5 billion, lower than $3.2 billion in the same quarter last year. Operating margin stood at 21.3%, a slight uptick of 0.8% on an annual basis.
Similar to its peers, Infosys does not expect an impact on its US workforce after Trump’s threat of immigration crackdown, as 60% per cent of the company’s headcount there are independent of H1B visas.
However, the company declined to comment on its legal issues with Cognizant in the US and on the median salary hike for freshers.
LTIMindtree profit falls
Mumbai headquartered IT firm LTIMindtree reported a 7.1% decline in its net profit at 1,085 crore for Q3, which is a seasonally weak period for IT companies. PAT was down 13.2% compared to the July-September period.
Revenue from operations grew by 7.1% to Rs 9,661 crore, aided by execution of large deals won in the previous quarters. Meanwhile, the topline was up 2.4% on a sequential basis.
“Our differentiated AI strategy has helped us record our highest-ever order inflow of $1.68 billion, laying the foundation for future growth,” said Debashis Chatterjee, chief executive officer and managing director.
The company added 2,363 employees in Q3, a positive net headcount addition for the third consecutive quarter. Trailing 12 months attrition was 14.3%. Earnings before interest, tax (EBIT) margin or operating margin, decreased to 13.8% from 15.5% on a quarterly basis.
On the other hand, its order book grew to $1.68 billion, a jump of 29% sequentially and its highest quarterly deal wins. The company also declared an interim dividend of Rs 20 per share.