April 13, 2012 / 14:42 IST
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Infosys Ltd, India's second-largest software services exporter, reported a 27.4 percent rise in quarterly net profit, meeting forecast, after customers ramped up orders to cut operational costs.
Bangalore-based Infosys said on Friday consolidated net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 rose to 23.16 billion rupees from 18.18 billion rupees a year earlier.
Analysts had forecast a net profit of 23.18 billion rupees for the company, whose customers include Procter & Gamble Co and Volkswagen AG, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Infosys and its bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
, part of India's $100 billion information technology and back-office services outsourcing sector, have benefited from cost-conscious customers bumping up demand.
An uncertain global economy and rising U.S. rhetoric against shipping of jobs to low-cost locations ahead of the November presidential election are, however, concerns for the sector that gets half its revenue from the world's largest economy.
Tata Consultancy, Infosys and No. 3 exporter Wipro are also facing increased competition from bigger global rivals such as IBM and Accenture for a bigger share of the outsourcing business.
Reflecting the concerns on the outlook, shares in Infosys, which has a market value of $31 billion, are down 0.6 percent this year, compared with a 3 percent gain in the sector index and 12 percent rise in the broader market <.BSESN>.
(Reporting by Harichandan Arakali; Editing by Malini Menon and Ranjit Gangadharan) Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
