Infosys Shares Rise on Strong Sales View

MUMBAI, India (TheStreet) -- Infosys Technologies (INFY), India's IT consulting and software services firm, reported net income for the fourth quarter of $349 million, registering quarter-over-quarter growth of 4.5% and year-over-year growth of 8.7%.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.3 billion, 5.2% higher than revenue reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 and 15.6% higher than revenue reported a year earlier. Fiscal 2010 revenue reached $4.804 billion, registering a 3% increase over revenue reported for fiscal 2009.

"We have been able to take advantage of the opportunities in the market and grow faster due to our investments in capacity and capability building even during the economic downturn," said S. Gopalakrishnan, Infosys CEO. "Though the economic environment continues to be challenging, businesses are investing in growth for building a better future."

Infosys expects revenue for fiscal 2011 to grow by 16% to 18%, above consensus estimates of analysts polled by Bloomberg. Consolidated earnings are expected to be in the range of $2.40 and $2.50 a share, year-over-year growth of 4.3% to 8.6%. A strong rebound in IT spending in U.S. and other major economies during 2010 will help Infosys boost revenue for the year ending March 2011.

Infosys shares rose 3.7% in trading in India Tuesday.

According to analysts polled by Bloomberg, the company is set to report earnings of $2.45 a share for year ending March 2011 and $2.72 a share for year ending March 2012.

Meanwhile, revenue is estimated to reach $5.51 billion for the year ending March 2011 registering a 14.7% increase, below company's guidance of 16% to 18% increase.

Forrester anticipates the global IT sector to grow at 7.7% during 2010, on the back of 8.4% growth in the U.S. and 8.3% growth in the Asia Pacific Region.

The company's stock increased 11.1% year to date and closed at its 52-week high of $62.40 on March 23.

In comparison, other Indian IT ADRs, Wipro (WIT), Patni Computer (PTI), Cognizant Technology(CTSH), Satyam Computer (SAY) and iGate (IGTE) registered year-to-date growth rates of 5.3%, 24.8%, 14.6%, 18.8% and 9.3%, respectively.