Pvt corporate bodies cash out of Infosys

Anticipation of a slowdown ahead for export-dependent software service firms reinforced by Infy’s reduced earnings outlook.

Some large shareholders of Infosys Ltd, the country’s second largest software exporter, have cashed out of the company in the past three months.

Between October and December last year, 398 undisclosed corporate bodies sold shares worth Rs 10,000-12,800 crore by off-loading 43.3 million shares or 7.55 per cent stake in the company. This was largely absorbed by domestic institutional investors, which raised stake to 17.49 per cent during the quarter gone by, from 10.72 per cent.

In September 2011, there were 3,920 corporate bodies which held 8.06 per cent stake. There are now 3,522 such bodies, holding merely 0.51 per cent stake in Infosys. The names of this category of shareholders has not been disclosed as they do not come under the institutional or promoter category.

In the past three months, the government of Singapore and the emerging market fund, Oppenheimer, raised stake marginally by 0.09 per cent and 0.03 per cent, respectively. The foreign institutional investor category saw stake rising in the company to 37.36 per cent in the third quarter from 33.66 per cent earlier.

Among domestic players, mutual funds raised stake from 5.07 per cent to 5.24 per cent. Life Insurance Corporation sold 1.83 million shares or 0.32 per cent stake and marginally brought down holding to 5.17 per cent. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance reduced stake by 0.31 per cent to 1.92 per cent. Bajaj Alliance Life Insurance sold 0.6 per cent and now holds 1.05 per cent.

Analysts say those offloading would get relief, as Infosys on Thursday issued a poor earnings outlook for the next full year, due to the worsening Europe debt crises. It has forecast dollar revenue growth of 16.4 per cent for the current year ending March 31, down from 17.1-19.1 per cent projected in October. The share crashed by 8.4 per cent to its lowest level in many weeks at Rs 2,588 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday. Export-driven software services companies are bracing for a slow pace of outsourcing from the US and Europe. While the broader equity markets fell in 2011 on euro zone worries, the share price of information technology (IT) companies had weathered the storm, due to the rupee’s weakening against the dollar.

The corporate bodies which sold shares could have anticipated a slowdown, as the operating margins for Infosys at 28.2 per cent for the three months ended September 30, were the highest among its local peers and ahead of IBM’s 19.8 per cent. Other IT majors, including Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, are yet to file their quarterly shareholding with the exchanges or declare results.
 

Infosys no longer most influential stock

Infosys on Thursday lost its status as India’s most influential stock, to Reliance Industries. The company had briefly taken the tag from RIL. Infosys slipped to the sixth position, from fifth previously. At the end of Thursday’s trade, it carried a Sensex weight of 9.51 per cent, a shade below RIL’s 10 per cent. Agencies