Infosys (INFY F2Q05 Conf Call Quotes) Jul-Sep Quarter Results and Q&A

Infosys (INFY) just had their Jul-Sep quarter earnings conference call. Infosys posted excellent numbers overall. On the conference call, most analysts asking questions were congratulatory and positive.

Nandan Nilekani, CEO, Infosys on the July-September quarter, along with Kris Gopalkrishnan, COO & Mohandas Pai, CFO:

Key results:

• Sequential revenue growth of 10.7% (Indian GAAP), 10.1% (U.S. GAAP)
• Profit for the July-September quarter rose 36 percent from a year earlier to $137.7 million
• Reached a revnue of US$1 Billion for the half year, compared to US$1 Billion for the full year in FY04
• Gross margin 47.2% operating margin 32%, stable
• Pricing stable, with small upward bias; getting 3% to 4% more (above Infosys average) from new clients; renewals of existing contracts for the most part are following the same pattern.
• Added record number of employees, 8026 gross, with approximately 1000 with prior experience in other companies; total employees now approximately 46,100
• Declared interim dividend of INR 6.5/share compared to INR 5/share to corresponding period last year

On Outlook:

• Revenue now expected to be between $2.12 billion and $2.13 billion for the current fiscal year, higher than the $2.03 billion to $2.05 billion range forecast earlier
• Company's fiscal fourth quarter revenue will be "positively impacted" by the effect of a weak rupee on its software exports. The Indian Rupee fell 2.1 percent against the U.S. Dollar in October.
• We have to choose between expanding margins and expanding growth. At this time we are choosing growth.

On Positioning:

• Infosys now a very strong global brand
• We deliver services “better, faster and cheaper,