Infosys tumbles after discontinuing full year earnings guidance

Key benchmark indices tumbled in early trade as IT major Infosys slumped over 16% after the company discontinued issuing full year earnings guidance after reporting Q4 and year ended 31 March 2013 results before trading hours. Infosys tumbled 16.07%. Other IT pivotals also declined. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 264.34 points or 1.43%, off close to 20 points from the day's high and up about 85 points from the day's low. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher in early trade. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was slightly higher. The market breadth was weak.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 36.63 crore on Thursday, 11 April 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

At 9:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 264.34 points or 1.43% to 18,277.86. The index slumped 349.02 points at the day's low of 18,193.18 in early trade. The index fell 242.86 points at the day's high of 18,299.34 in early trade.

The CNX Nifty was down 76.35 points or 1.36% to 5,517.65. The index hit a low of 5,494.90 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 5,529.75 in intraday trade.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 406 shares fell and 189 shares rose. A total of 14 shares were unchanged.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 17 stocks gained while rest of them fell.

Infosys tumbled 16.07%. Infosys' consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose 1.1% to Rs 2394 crore on 0.3% growth in revenue to Rs 10454 crore in Q4 March 2013 over Q3 December 2012. The company's consolidated net profit rose 13.3% to Rs 9421 crore on 19.6% rise in revenues to Rs 40352 crore in the financial year ended March 2013 (FY 2013) over FY 2012. The company reported Q4 results before market hours today, 12 April 2013.

Infosys has discontinued giving full year earnings guidance. The company has forecast 6% to 10% growth in revenue in both rupee terms and dollar terms for the year ending 31 March 2014 (FY 2014).

Infosys and its subsidiaries added 56 clients during the quarter. The company added 8,990 employees on gross basis during the quarter. There was a net addition of 1,059 employees during the quarter.

Infosys said it has decided to set aside up to $100 million to invest in products, platforms and solutions ideas in line with Infosys 3.0 strategy.

Infosys had liquid assets including cash and cash equivalents, current available-for-sale financial assets, investment in certificates of deposits and government bonds, at Rs 23958 crore as on 31 March 2013, higher than Rs 22501 crore as on 31 December 2012.

Commenting on the financial performance, S. D. Shibulal, CEO and Managing Director, Infosys said: "Global economic uncertainties remain challenging for the IT industry. We are progressing well on our strategic direction of building a high-quality company which is relevant to our clients. We are making all the investments necessary to differentiate ourselves in the market place while positioning ourselves as a partner of choice for our clients."

Rajiv Bansal, Chief Financial Officer, Infosys said: "The global currency market continues to be volatile reflecting the uncertain economic environment. Our hedging strategy helps us to minimize the volatility impact. We have a healthy balance sheet with our cash and cash equivalents at $4.4 billion."

Other IT pivotals, TCS and Wipro fell by 2.12% to 4.05%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.15% at Rs 772.30. RIL announces Q4 results on 16 April 2013.

Shares of Reliance Communications fell 0.93%. RIL's telecom unit Reliance Jio Infocomm and Reliance Communications (RCom) on 2 April 2013 announced the signing of a definitive agreement for approximately Rs 1200 crore as one time indefeasible right to use (IRU) fees for sharing RCom's nationwide inter-city fiber optic network infrastructure. Reliance Jio Infocomm will utilize multiple fiber pairs across RCom's 1.2 lakh kilometres inter-city fiber optic network to provide a robust and future proof backbone for rolling out its state-of-the-art 4G services. As per the agreement, RCom will in turn have reciprocal access to optic fiber infrastructure to be built by Reliance Jio Infocomm in the future.

The agreement provides for joint working arrangements to be put in place immediately for upgradation of the optic fiber network to ensure seamless delivery of next generation services.

Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 1.75% to Rs 290.25 on defensive buying. The stock had hit record high of Rs 310.75 on 4 February 2013. The government raised the excise duty on cigarettes by about 18% on all cigarettes except cigarettes of length not exceeding 65 mm in Union Budget 2013-14, which was unveiled on 28 February 2013.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) rose 1.19%. Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) said before market hours today, 12 April 2013, that the board of directors of the bank at its meeting held on 11 April 2013, has given its consent for issue of 2 crore equity shares of Rs 5 each amounting to approximately 2.6% shareholding in the bank (as of 31 March 2013) on a post-issue basis to Heliconia, an affiliate of Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte (GIC), at a price of Rs 648 per share aggregating to Rs 1296 crore on preferential basis. This transaction augments the Tier I capital of the bank for pursuit of growth opportunities, KMBL said in a statement. It will also be a step towards dilution of promoter stake in the bank, it said.

Commenting on the development, Jaimin Bhatt, President & Group CFO, KMBL said: "With delight we welcome a reputed and large global financial institution of the stature of GIC as our shareholder. Their investment in the bank underscores the strong fundamentals of our institution."

On the macro front, the government will unveil industrial production data for February 2013 today, 12 April 2013. Industrial production is seen declining 1.5% in February 2013, as per the median estimate of a poll of economists carried out by Capital Market. Industrial production had risen 2.4% in January 2013, as against a contraction of 0.5% in December 2012.

The government will also unveil data on the combined consumer price index for urban and rural India for March 2013 today, 12 April 2013. Inflation based on the combined consumer price index for urban and rural India had edged up to 10.91% in February 2013, from 10.79% in January 2013.

The upside on the domestic bourses may be capped as reduction of promoter stake to meet the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mandated minimum public shareholding of 25% for private companies and 10% for state-run firms will result in supply of equity in the market over the next few months. As per the Sebi mandated minimum public shareholding rule, private-sector companies must cut founders' stake to adhere to the rules by 30 June 2013, while the deadline for state-run firms is 31 August 2013. PSU divestment will also add to share sale glut in FY 2014. The government has set a target of Rs 40000 crore from divestment of government stake in state-run firms and Rs 14000 crore from divestment of stake in non-government companies for FY 2014.

The Q4 March 2013 corporate earnings season begins today, 12 April 2013. Reliance Industries (RIL) announces Q4 results on 16 April 2013. TCS announces Q4 results on 17 April 2013. IndusInd Bank announces Q2 results on 18 April 2013. Wipro announces Q4 results on 19 April 2013. Cairn India announces Q4 results on 22 April 2013. UltraTech Cement announces Q4 results on the same day.

HDFC Bank announces Q4 results on 23 April 2013. Axis Bank will announce its Q4 March 2013 results on 24 April 2013. ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki unveil Q4 results on 26 April 2013. IDFC announces Q4 results on 1 May 2013. HDFC announces Q4 results on 8 May 2013. Ranbaxy announces Q1 March 2013 results on the same day. Dr. Reddys Laboratories announces Q4 results on 14 May 2013.

The government will unveil data on the wholesale price index (WPI) for March 2013 on Monday, 15 April 2013. WPI inflation is projected to ease to 6.4% in March 2013 from 6.84% in February 2013, as per the median estimate of a poll of economists carried out by Capital Market. WPI inflation had edged up to 6.84% in February 2013 from 6.62% in January 2013.

The India Meteorological Department will issue its initial forecast of 2013 southwest monsoon in this month.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao on 6 April 2013 said that the high fiscal deficit is a problem because it exacerbates inflation and impedes monetary policy transmission. The RBI will announce the Monetary Policy Statement 2013-14 on 3 May 2013. The RBI cut its key policy rate viz. the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5% after a mid-quarter monetary policy review on 19 March 2013. The key macroeconomic priorities are to raise the growth rate, restrain inflation pressures and mitigate the vulnerability of the external sector, RBI said at that time. Even as the policy stance emphasises addressing the growth risks, the headroom for further monetary easing remains quite limited, the RBI said. The RBI said it will continue to actively manage liquidity through various instruments, including open market operations (OMO), so as to ensure adequate flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy.

The second half of the Budget session of the Parliament begins on 22 April 2013. The government has lined up a number of key bills for consideration and passing during the Budget session of the parliament, which include The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010, The Pension Fund Regulator and Development Authority Bill, 2011, The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, The National Food Security Bill, 2011 and The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008. The Budget Session of the Parliament ends on 10 May 2013.

Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on 5 May 2013 and the counting of votes and results of the election will be declared on 8 May 2013.

Asian stocks fell on Friday from the highest level in 20 months, paring the biggest weekly advance since September. Key benchmark indices in China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan fell by 0.01% to 0.8%. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and Indonesia rose by 0.24% to 0.42%.

A report showed Singapore's economy unexpectedly contracted last quarter as companies grappled with a labor shortage and exports faltered amid an uneven global recovery.

US stocks on Thursday notched another day of record gains as some retailers reported improved sales, though tech stocks tumbled after a report showed a sharp decline in PC demand. For the S&P 500, it was the index's second straight day of record close. For the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it was the index's third straight record finish.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in labor market conditions after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday

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