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Infosys Q1 net grows 5.2 per cent to Rs 3,802 crore; ups revenue guidance to 8.5-10%
NEW DELHI: IT behemoth Infosys Ltd posted better-than-expected 5.3 per cent rise in its June quarter net profit as it bagged more orders, and raised revenue growth forecast for the current fiscal to 8.5-10 per cent range.
The country’s No 2 IT services firm posted a net profit of Rs 3,802 crore, or Rs 8.83 per share, in April-June as compared to Rs 3,612 crore, or Rs 8.31 a share, in the same period of the previous fiscal, the company said.
Notably, Infosys has announced an enhanced capital allocation policy wherein it will return 85 per cent of free cash flow cumulatively over a five-year period to shareholders via buyback and dividends.
Revenue from operations rose 14 per cent to Rs 21,803 crore. The Bengaluru-based company secured USD 2.7 billion – its highest ever in a quarter – in large deals, mostly in dominant North American and European markets.
The company has raised its revenue growth guidance for the fiscal to March 31, 2020 to be between 8.5 per cent and 10 per cent, from the 7.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent range it had forecast earlier.
Ahead of the announcement of results, Infosys shares closed 0.87 per cent higher at Rs 727.10 on the BSE on Friday.
Commenting on the results, Infosys CEO and Managing Director Salil Parekh said, “We had a strong start to FY’20 with constant currency growth accelerating to 12.4 per cent on year over year basis and digital revenue growth of 41.9 per cent. This was achieved through our consistent client focus and investments which have strengthened our client relationships”.
Attributing the performance to a “broad-based growth”, Parekh added that the company has consequently raised the revenue guidance for this fiscal from 7.5-9.5 per cent to 8.5-10 per cent in constant currency terms.
In US dollars terms, Infosys net profit grew to USD 546 million in the June quarter from USD 534 million in the year-ago period, while revenues rose to USD 3.13 billion as against USD 2.83 billion.
“We had a good quarter as we continue to leverage our digital navigation framework to help our clients build and nurture their live enterprise. Large deal TCV was highest ever at USD 2.7 billion. Segment growth was robust with all large regions and most verticals growing at double digits y-o-y in constant currency,” Infosys COO Pravin Rao said.
Infosys’ larger rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) posted a 10.8 per cent rise in June quarter profits, while its revenue grew 11.4 per cent to Rs 38,172 crore during the quarter. The company had said its focus will be on maintaining double-digit revenue growth in the rest of the year.
Wipro and HCL Technologies are slated to announce their results in the coming weeks.
Infosys Friday said its digital revenues in the June quarter was at about USD 1.1 billion (35.7 per cent of total revenues), having grown 41.9 per cent year-on-year.
Its operating margin for the quarter was at 20.5 per cent, and the company expects to maintain the FY20 operating margin range of 21-23 per cent.
Infosys added 906 people (net) during the quarter to take its total headcount to 2,29,029 at the end of June 2019. The attrition (annualised consolidated) was at 23.4 per cent.
The company said there was no impact of attrition on its deliverables and that historically, the first quarter of the fiscal has a higher level of attrition.
Infosys has initiated a number of measures for employee engagement, investment in career opportunities and enrichment of experience for employees, the top management said, conceding that the attrition was definitely higher than what the company wanted.
Talking about the revamped capital return policy, Infosys Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy said, “Continuing our objective of improving shareholder returns, we have revised our capital allocation policy upwards”.
Effective from the financial year 2019-20, Infosys expects to return about 85 per cent of its free cash flow cumulatively over a five-year period through a combination of semi-annual dividends, buyback and/or special dividends, it said.
Infosys added that it is on track towards completing its previously announced share buyback of Rs 8,260 crore and has bought back shares worth Rs 5,934 crore till date.
The development comes at a time when the government has proposed that listed companies be liable to pay additional tax at 20 per cent in case of share buyback as is the case currently for unlisted companies.
Roy said it was “too premature” to comment on the issue but added that the company is going to continue its existing buyback programme.
Infosys noted that its current policy entails paying up to 70 per cent of the free cash flow annually by way of dividend and/or buyback.
Source: Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI: Yotta Data Services, an end-to-end Digital Transformation service provider, has announced that its state-of-the-art data centre facility, “Yotta G1”, located in GIFT city, Gandhinagar is ready for service (RFS).
The opening of this data center marks the debut of Yotta in Gujarat and progresses the company’s mission to provide digital services in India’s high-growth markets.
G1 is Yotta’s fifth data center facility in the country. It joins four large operational data centers, two of which, at Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida are part of hyperscale campuses. Yotta G1 is uniquely located inside the International Financial Services Center (IFSC) zone of Gandhinagar’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT city).
G1 represents an investment of more than INR 500 cr. over five years across critical non-IT and IT / Cloud / AI compute infrastructure. The data center has a capacity of over 350 high-density racks and 2 MW power (which can be scaled further as per demand). The facility is designed to meet the most demanding digital needs of its customers, who may be located within GIFT City or anywhere in the world, by seamlessly delivering fault-tolerant facility infrastructure, high-performance Cloud compute and storage infrastructure, advanced physical and cyber security, unmatched connectivity, and steadfast sustainability.
For large global enterprises operating in the GIFT City IFSC zone, the G1 data center functions as a potential data embassy, whereby their data stored is subject to the laws and regulations of their home country, thus allowing them to maintain sovereignty over their data, even when stored in India. By storing data in a physically different location, global enterprises can ensure continuity of operations in case of major disruptions within their borders. The data center’s location also ensures compliance with the IFSC regulations, providing businesses in the zone with distinct advantages like free foreign exchange convertibility, a liberalised regulatory environment, and business-friendly policies. It also helps enterprises adhere to IFSC’s compliance requirements, including being mandated to host their data within the IFSC zone.
Commenting on the announcement, Darshan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Chairman, Yotta Data Services, said, “The state of Gujarat, with GIFT City, has been at the forefront of providing a viable and sustainable platform for global businesses to set up base in India. The setting up of the IFSC zone is a further testament to their vision for financial services companies. We are proud to support this vision of the Gujarat government with a state-of-the-art data center within the IFSC zone, providing the latest and best in cutting-edge technologies to help businesses set up and scale their businesses while also adhering to all regulatory requirements.”
Adding to this, Sunil Gupta, Co-Founder, MD & CEO, Yotta Data Services, said, “Yotta’s G1 marks a pivotal milestone in delivering high-end data center, Cloud, AI compute, storage, connectivity and cybersecurity services to enterprises both on a global and local scale in the Gujarat region. Besides serving the domestic enterprises within and outside GIFT City, our data center shall serve as a potential data embassy for global enterprises, enabling them to adhere to their respective country’s laws while offering a dependable and secure locale for offshore data storage.”
G1 data centre stands distinct in GIFT city for being a data center offering more than just colocation services. True to Yotta’s stature as the end-to-end digital transformation partner of choice for enterprises, G1 brings forth a suite of key features, ranging from advanced data security and customised business solutions to an indigenous hyperscale cloud offering, AI-GPU compute offering, state-of-the-art infrastructure, cybersecurity expertise, seamless integration with managed IT services, 24/7 customer support, cost optimisation, and an overall competitive edge.
This announcement follows on the heels of Yotta’s recent launch of its cloud services – Shakti Cloud and Yntraa Cloud. Powered by NVIDIA’s top-of-the-line GPUs, Shakti Cloud is India’s largest & fastest AI-HPC supercomputer, delivering cutting-edge GPU computing infrastructure, platforms, and services, including Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service. Yntraa Cloud, on the other hand, is a truly indigenous hyperscale cloud platform at par with global cloud platforms, offering an exhaustive range of cloud products and services.
NEW DELHI: Domestic contract manufacturer Optiemus Infracom has entered into a joint venture with US-based speciality glassmaker Corning International to set up India’s first manufacturing facility for producing high-quality finished cover glass parts for the mobile consumer electronics industry.
The collaboration between both the companies will help expand India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem, as the Indian government strengthens its Make in India initiative. As a part of the joint venture, the companies strategically aim to set up a world-class manufacturing facility in India, powered by cutting-edge technologies and processes.
Driven by a shared commitment to innovation and technological excellence, this collaboration will pave the way for the manufacturing of “Made in India” finished cover glass parts for use in mobile consumer electronic devices, and other cover glass applications, to meet the needs of next-generation mobile consumer electronic devices.
The joint venture signifies a powerful synergy between Optiemus’s deep domestic industry and manufacturing knowledge of electronics and telecom market and Corning’s globally-acclaimed expertise in advanced glass technology. By combining these strengths, the joint venture aspires to not only establish cover glass manufacturing capabilities and capacity in India, but also to contribute significantly to the creation of jobs and skill development within India’s thriving technology sector, the companies said in a statement.
Ashok Kumar Gupta, Chairman, Optiemus Infracom, said, “It is a matter of great pride for us to actively contribute to the growing manufacturing ecosystem in the country. With this joint venture, initiated in line with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India of ‘Make in India’ programme and the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative, we are committed to make available world-class high-quality products for global and local brands.”
“Embarking on this new journey, we intend to emerge as one of the top manufacturers of finished cover glass parts for use in mobile consumer electronic devices in the next five years. Our collective expertise in innovation, design, and manufacturing, will provide holistic solutions for the brands,” Gupta added.
NEW DELHI: Chipset maker MediaTek, which claims to power more than two billion connected devices every year, hosted ‘Catch-up with Tech’ in collaboration with handset brand Infinix on August 28 to share insightful and engaging conversations about the new-age smartphones and innovative technologies powering everyday lives.
The meet-up threw the spotlight on the MediaTek Dimensity Auto, Satellite solutions and Generative AI along with an extensive showcase of newly-launched Infinix Zero 30 5G powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8020, Infinix GT 10 Pro powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8050, and Infinix QLED TV powered by MediaTek.
In terms of specs, the Infinix Zero 30 5G is tailored for young storytellers and creators, featuring the first-ever smartphone to deliver 4K 60fps video recording from its 108 MP OIS rear camera and ultra-high resolution 50MP front camera. The Zero 30 series powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8020 is said to be a game changer for the front camera vlogging experience along with being the slimmest curved AMOLED smartphone in the segment with glass and a vegan leather back panel. It also claims to be one of the most premium-looking devices in the segment.
The event witnessed a panel discussion moderated by Anuj Sidharth, Deputy Director Marketing & Corporate Communications, MediaTek and included expert panelists from Infinix, MediaTek and two renowned professional photographers.
“With the fifth edition of Catch-up with Tech, we aim to bring consumers closer to the technology and enable them to make informed buying decisions based on their diverse needs. In collaboration with Infinix, this meet-up is in-line with MediaTek’s vision of technology democratization and making innovative technology accessible to everyone,” said Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India. “The MediaTek Dimensity 8020 in Infinix Zero 30 5G brings faster displays, brilliant cameras and ultra-fast performance. Further, MediaTek Imagiq technologies enrich the capture experience by combining dedicated AI, imaging processors and accelerators to provide incredible results,” he added.
Anish Kapoor, CEO, Infinix Mobile India, said, “Featuring India’s first 50MP 4K 60 fps video recording, Infinix Zero 30 5G is primed to redefine smartphone imaging capabilities, setting a new standard for the creators and vlogging enthusiasts. Our collaboration with MediaTek has played a pivotal role in shaping our exceptional smartphone portfolio, and the Zero 30 5G stands as evidence of our unwavering commitment to innovation and delivering unmatched experiences to our users. The display and design of the device represent a leap forward in smartphone technology. As Infinix Zero 30 5G hits the shelves, we are positive that our customers will find this new offering as exhilarating as we do, further empowering creators to capture their story like never before.”
Radhakrishnan Chakyat, a photography evangelist, founder and host of Pixel Viilage, said, “Infinix Zero 30 5G smartphone powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset has amazing hardware features, an excellent camera, dual-view video mode and is primed for optimal content creation and saves a tremendous amount of editing time.”
Aarzoo Khurana, a wildlife photographer, said, “Over the last few days, I clicked various pictures and recorded a few videos with the newly-launched Infinix Zero 30 5G powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8020, and the experience has been truly inspiring. Infinix’s smartphone’s OIS feature helps content creators click shake-free pictures and the front camera, which is extremely sharp and detailed, enables content creators to click countless selfies.”
