Infosys hopes for revival in outsourcing demand
Infosys Technologies edged up its forecast on a revival in outsourcing demand from its mainstay financial clients yesterday, but its shares fell as markets worried a weak European economy could curb orders.
India’s second largest outsourcer reported a surprise 2.6 per cent drop in April to June profit and its sales contribution from Europe fell to about 20 per cent from nearly 25 per cent a year ago and 23 per cent in January to March.
The company, a trendsetter in the country’s showpiece IT services sector, added 1,026 staff in April to June, its slowest pace of addition in four quarters. Infosys and local rivals Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have raised salaries by 10 to 20 per cent on average to keep staff from being poached by global rivals.
India’s export-driven software services firms, however, face uncertainty on orders from Europe. Its shares closed 6.6 per cent down at $58.9.