Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

Oh and just GUESS WHAT? Right NOW!

Infosys Quarterly Profit up 18 Percent to $374M

MUMBAI, India October 15, 2010 (AP)

Infosys quarterly profit rises better than expected 18 pct, to $374 million, on strong demand

PLEASE remember Infosys is just ONE of the companies contributing to the Chamber of Commerce..how MANY more of OUR jobs do they WANT ?

Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's bellwether information technology outsourcing company, beat expectations Friday with an 18 percent rise in quarterly profit in dollar terms on strong global demand for low cost outsourcing services.

Net profit was 17.4 billion rupees ($374 million) for the July-September quarter, up 14.7 percent in dollar terms from the prior quarter. Revenues were 69.5 billion rupees ($1.5 billion), up 29.6 percent in dollar terms from the same period last year and up 10.2 percent from the prior quarter.

Both measures beat analyst expectations in dollar terms. Analysts had expected net profit of $346.5 million and revenue of $1.4 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue growth was broad-based, with gains in financial services, manufacturing and retail.

The company said revenues this fiscal year ending March would grow 24.0 percent to 25.0 percent in dollar terms, to between $5.95 billion and $6 billion. It offered more muted guidance in rupee terms of 18.5 percent to 19.4 percent growth, due to a strengthening rupee against the dollar.

The company added a net 7,646 employees during the quarter, bringing its headcount to 122,468 as Indian outsourcing companies scramble to hire and retain staff amid a revival in demand.

Staff costs for the quarter were 36.8 billion rupees ($835.3 million), up 23.4 percent from 29.8 billion rupees during the same period last year.

IIFL Capital analyst Rajiv Mehta said better than expected volume growth bodes well for India's outsourcing industry, but the "disappointing" rupee guidance may weigh on the Infosys share price.

"Overall, the revenue scenario is getting stronger day by day," he said. But, he added, "If you try to value the stock in light of the sharp run-up we've seen in the last month, it seems like the stock will correct."

Rising protectionism in the United States is less of a threat to Infosys and its peers than domestic wage pressure, Mehta said.

"Protectionist rhetoric is not a big concern," he said.

Infosys last raised salaries — by 14 to 15 percent offshore and 3 to 4 percent on site — in April. He said they may have to hike wages again soon to fight rising attrition, which would hit margins.

"If supply side pressures continue and volume growth keeps ticking up, a second round of wage hikes is possible," he said.

Infosys shares hit a record high of 3228.0 rupees on Thursday, before closing up 1.1 percent at 3,184.25 rupees in advance of the results.

As markets opened Friday, Infosys shares dropped 0.9 percent to 3,156.2 rupees.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11886966