Infosys invests in overseas subsidiaries

IT major, Infosys Technologies, has incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 63-crore in its three loss-making subsidiaries in China, Mexico and the US, the company said in its annual report.

"We have invested Rs 22-crore each in Infosys Mexico and Infosys Consulting Inc based in Texas, US, while making an additional investment of Rs 19-crore in Infosys China during FY 09," Infosys Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, S Gopalakrishnan, said.

The company has invested Rs 193-crore (USD 45-million) in Infosys Consulting, which includes an investment of Rs 81- crore in FY 08. During fiscal 2005, the company established Infosys Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary in Texas, US, to add high-end consulting capabilites to its Global Delivery Model. During FY 09, the company serviced 96 clients, and generated revenue of Rs 287-crore with a net loss of Rs 59- crore, the company said in its annual report.

Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Infosys China, was formed to expand its business operations in China. The company invested Rs 65-crore (USD 14-million) of capital in Infosys China and advanced a loan of USD 10-million (Rs 51-crore) in FY 09.

Infosys China serviced 71 clients and generated revenue of Rs 129-crore, with a net loss of Rs 11-crore. Its employee strength as on March 2009 was 1,053.

Its Mexican subsidiary, Infosys Technologies S de R L de C V was established in 2008 as the first Latin American subsidiary. The Infosys Board has approved an investment of up to Mexican Pesos 60-million.

The Mexican subsidiary provides a complete range of business consulting and information technology services for clients in all industries including banking, financial services, retail, consumer packaged goods, resource, energy and utilities.

The center provides key offerings in business process outsourcing, infrastructure management and packaged solutions implementation, the company said.

The Australian subsidiary, Infosys Australia, serviced 48 clients and generated Rs 549-crore in revenue with net profit of Rs 46-crore. It has also acquired 100 per cent of the equity shares of Mainstream Software Pty Ltd for a cash consideration of Rs 12-crore.

During March 2009, the company also incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary, Infosys Technologies (Sweden) AB, in Sweden. The Board has approved an investment upto SEK 1,00,000 (Rs 0.06-crore) and the subsidiary is yet to commence operations.

Meanwhile, the company had reduced its capex plan in FY 09. In FY 09, the company has invested Rs 1,177-crore towards capital expenditure as against Rs 1,370-crore in the previous year.

It has incurred capital expenditure aggregating Rs 891-crore on physical infrastructure as against Rs 1,180-crore spent during the previous year. The technological infrastructure costs Rs 273-crore as against Rs 189-crore in the previous year.

As on March 2009, the company had 226.43-lakh sq ft of space with 95,048 seats, and an additional 45.55-lakh sq ft under construction that would provide 20,756 seats, it said.

Commenting on liquidity, the company said, "we continue to be debt-free and maintain sufficient cash to meet our strategic objectives. Liquidity in the balance-sheet needs to balance between earning adequate returns and the need to cover financial and business risks."

During FY 09, internal cash flows have more than adequately covered working capital requirements, capital expenditure, investment in subsidiaries and dividend payments, leaving a surplus of Rs 2,600-crore. As on March 2009, the company had liquid assets of Rs 10,289-crore as against Rs 7,689-crore in the previous year.