Infosys H1 Net Rises 126%

The net profit of Infosys Technologies Ltd increased 106 per cent to Rs 28.40 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 1998, from Rs 13.82 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Infosys' net for the first half rose 126 per cent to Rs 52.07 crore against Rs 23.04 crore for the same period last year. Total income rose 95 per cent to Rs 120.44 crore from Rs 61.88 crore.

The company's income for the half-year ended September 30, 1998, was Rs 218.86 crore compared with Rs 107.69 crore last year, an increase of 103 per cent.

Annualised earnings per share for the half year were Rs 65.01 against Rs 28.76 for the last corresponding period (after adjusting for the bonus of 1:1 effective October, 1997, and conversion of 7,49,000 warrants), the company said. Following the impressive performance, the Infosys board has proposed an interim dividend of 25 per cent.

According to the company, export revenue grew to Rs 118.10 crore in the last quarter compared with Rs 59.14 crore last year, registering a climb of 100 per cent.

Infosys chairman and managing director N R Narayana Murthy predicted that the revenue and profitability of Indian software companies would continue to be healthy despite indications of an economic slowdown in the G-7 countries.

However, he added a note of caution, telling shareholders that Infosys may not be able to achieve such high growth rates in revenue and profits in the remaining two quarters.

Yantra Corporation, the subsidiary of Infosys in the US, posted net revenues of Rs 3.73 crore during the same quarter and a net loss of Rs 3.99 crore. The company attributed the loss to R&D expenditure of Rs 98 lakh and amortisation cost of products totalling Rs 0.34 crore.

The board of directors has also taken on record the unaudited financial statements as per US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) requirements. According to the board, while the US GAAP mandates consolidation of subsidiaries accounts, Indian accounting does not demand such a move.