Infosys net profit falls 30 per cent to Rs 3,610 crore in December quarter

IT major Infosys Friday said its net profit declined by nearly 30 per cent to Rs 3,610 crore during the December 2018 quarter, even as it announced a share buyback plan of up to Rs 8,260 crore. The country's second-largest software services firm had registered a net profit of Rs 5,129 crore in the October-December 2017 quarter, Infosys said in a BSE filing.

The Bengaluru-based firm's revenue, however, grew 20.3 per cent to Rs 21,400 crore in the December 2018 quarter as compared to Rs 17,794 crore in the year-ago period.

The board of the company approved a buyback of equity shares from the open market route amounting up to Rs 8,260 crore (about USD 1.18 billion) at a price not exceeding Rs 800 per share, the statement added.

Infosys has also announced a special dividend of Rs 4 per share that would result in a payout of about Rs 2,107 crore (approximately USD 302 million).  

The company has revised upwards its FY2018-19 revenue guidance in constant currency to 8.5-9 per cent, it said.

"With increased client relevance, we saw double digit (10.1 per cent) year-on-year growth in Q3 on a constant currency basis," Infosys CEO and MD Salil Parekh said.  

He said the company also had another strong quarter in its digital business with 33.1 per cent growth and large deals at USD 1.57 billion, which gives it confidence entering 2019.