Net profit of Rs 2,421 crore (Rs 24.21 billion) that the company earned in the financial year 2005-06 was close to its sales of Rs 2,603 crore (Rs 26.03 billion) in the financial year 2001-02.

Similarly, its 2004-05 net profit of Rs 1,904.38 crore (Rs 19.04 billion) almost matched its 2000-01 revenue of Rs 1,900.57 crore (Rs 19 billion). In fact, these figures are a testimony to Infosys' [Get Quote] rapid progress in quick time.

Infosys wants to be more respectable: Murthy

These are not isolated instances. Between 1996 and 2003, every third year, Infy's net profit almost matched the sales figure it posted three years ago.

To elaborate, its sales revenue of Rs 139.21 crore (Rs 1.39 billion) in 1996-97 was almost equal to its net profit in 1998-99, which was Rs 135.26 crore (Rs 1.35 billion).

Similarly, net sales of Rs 257.66 crore (Rs 2.57 billion) recorded in 1997-98 was close to its net profit in 1999-00 at Rs 293.52 crore (Rs 2.93 billion). 

The company's sales worth Rs 508.89 crore (Rs 5.08 billion) in 1999-00 were even lower than its net profit at Rs 628.81 crore (Rs 6.28 billion) in 2000-01. Again, in 2002-03, Infosys' net profit of Rs 957.93 crore (Rs 9.57 billion) was more than its sales of Rs 882.33 crore (Rs 8.82 billion) earned four years ago.

A Rs 88-crore (Rs 880 million) software company a decade ago is now a $2 billion major.  It took Infosys 23 years to reach the first billion dollars in revenues, but the next billion dollars came in 23 months.

For the fiscal year 2005-06, the company achieved standalone sales of Rs 9,028 crore ($2 billion) and its net profit was over half a billion dollar at Rs 2,421 crore (rs 24.21 billion).

The company's financial performance in the last 10 years was backed by its ability to achieve strong growth every quarter in those years.

Data available since the quarter ended June 1997 show that its sales matched its net profit after every eighth quarter till the quarter ended in March 2000. Thereafter, its net profit was either close to its sales or even higher than than that every 16 quarters.

Despite employment cost moving northwards from around 33-38 per cent of sales between 1996 and 2001 to almost 50 per cent now, the company's net profit margin remained steady at over 25 per cent during the last 10 years.

In the last four years, Infosys' net profit margin ranged between 26.5 per cent and 27 per cent. Between 1999-00 and 2001-02, its net profit margin was over 30 per cent.

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