Infosys grows fastest among peers, adds 21,171 people during the quarter

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Software major Infosys’ added 21,171 people in the first quarter of FY23, the company said as it announced its results for Q1 on July 24. The company’s headcount was 3,35,186 as of June 30, up from 3,14,015 last quarter.

Infosys reported revenue growth of 3.87 percent sequentially in dollar terms for the April-June quarter , the highest among peers such as TCS (1.25 percent), Wipro (0.51 percent) and HCL Tech (1.1 percent).

It raised its revenue growth guidance to 14-16 percent from 13-15 percent, and revenue growth was broad-based across its verticals. Its net profit was up 3.2 percent year-on-year, and declined 5.7 percent sequentially.

Infosys’ attrition rose to 28.4 percent on an LTM basis for the first quarter of FY23, with attrition continuing to remain elevated across the industry. Infosys’ attrition had zoomed to 27.7 percent last quarter.

Infosys’ attrition has elevated for a few quarters — 25.5 percent in Q3FY21, 20.1 percent in Q2FY22, and 13.9 percent in Q1FY22.

Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy, “We are fueling the strong growth momentum with strategic investments in talent through hiring and competitive compensation revisions. While this will impact margins in the immediate term, it is expected to reduce attrition levels and position us well for future growth. We continue to optimize various cost levers to drive efficiency in operations.”

He said that this quarter sees seasonally high attrition, but actually saw a 1% drop.

In FY22, Infosys hired 85,000 freshers, with its hiring up 2.2x in two years, and had guided that it would be hiring over 50,000 freshers in FY23. Reports had earlier stated that the company plans give 12-13 percent in hikes to its employees, going up to 20-23 percent for top performers.

Elevated attrition levels continued to trouble companies, with most companies expecting attrition levels to remain high for a few quarters before starting to decline, although it has started showing signs of moderation.

Infosys’ peers have also seen raised attrition. TCS’ attrition came in at 19.7 percent, HCL Tech at 23.8 percent, and Wipro at 23.3 percent.

TCS saw a net addition of 14,136 staff during the quarter, HCL added 2,089, and Wipro had 15,446 new hires during the quarter, with both TCS and HCL Tech seeing significantly fewer additions in Q1 as compared to Q4FY22.