India's Infosys posts 16% rise in fourth-quarter profit

BANGALORE: Indian software giant Infosys on Friday reported a 16 percent jump in fourth-quarter net profit, beating expectations after it won new clients for its IT services business.

Net profit in the three months to March 31 came in at 36 billion rupees ($540 million), compared with 31 billion rupees in the same period last year.

It beat analysts' estimates of quarterly profit of 35.2 billion rupees in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

A strong performance had been expected after the firm in January said it had managed to ride out deadly floods in Chennai at the end of last year that many feared would hurt earnings.

Revenues for the full year rose 17 percent to 624 billion rupees, Infosys said, as it added 325 new clients.

In January, chief operating officer U.B. Pravin Rao said a "healthy pipeline" of potential deals worth $3 billion would help the Bangalore-based firm achieve its growth projections.

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Shares in Infosys had closed slightly down at 1,172.05 rupees on Wednesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with markets closed Thursday and Friday for public holidays.

India has become a back office to the world as companies have subcontracted work to firms such as Infosys, taking advantage of the country's skilled English-speaking workforce.

Infosys is listed on stock exchanges in Mumbai and New York and was once seen as the bellwether of India's flagship outsourcing industry and the country's equivalent to Microsoft.

But it is now engaged in a tough battle to regain the top spot from Tata Consultancy Services, which announces results on Monday.

Deadly floods in Chennai at the end of the year killed more than 250 people and swamped the offices of many top IT firms.