'We spent considerable time re-skilling all the employees, and then we created a new focus called the 'One Infosys'.'
The first quarter results (Q1FY25) of Indian IT services hint towards better fiscal growth than the preceding year, but as the management commentary said, "there is still some time for the industry to be firing on all cylinders." Among the majors-Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro-it is the Bengaluru-based Infosys that has performed better, which was also evident in its full-year revenue guidance.
Amid a debate over 70-90-hour work week, the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Friday cited studies to state that spending over 60 hours a week on work could have adverse health effects. The survey noted that spending long hours at one's desk is detrimental to mental well-being and individuals who spend 12 or more hours (per day) at a desk have distressed or struggling levels of mental well-being.
The take by the Economic Survey 2024-25 on work hour week had come weeks after Larsen & Toubro Ltd Chairman and Managing Director SN Subrahmanyan sparked off a raging debate on social media when he said employees should work 90-hour a week, including on Sundays rather than sit at home.
Infosys on Thursday posted a 13.4 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,586 crore for the December quarter and the IT major raised its full year revenue guidance to 16-16.5 per cent. The net profit (after minority interest) stood at Rs 5,809 crore in the third quarter of FY22. The Bengaluru-based IT firm logged a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue in the third quarter of the current fiscal at Rs 38,318 crore.
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, has praised the company's founders for building an "incredible organisation", and exuded confidence that the firm which "has always been solid" will "continue with that stability." Parekh - who steered the firm to stability after a bitter spat between founders and then-management a few years back - believes that Infosys is "well positioned" to leverage tech-led growth opportunities over the next several years. Parekh took over at the helm in January 2018, after a standoff between board and founders, including NR Narayana Murthy, over issues such as governance, led to the exit of then-CEO Vishal Sikka.
Infosys Technologies is being sued again by a former senior employee for discrimination on the basis of age, gender and ethnicity while hiring in the US. The suit filed by Jill Prejean, vice-president of talent acquisition, has alleged that the company discriminated and retaliated when she tried to point out the discriminatory actions. Infosys' motion to dismiss the claims made by Prejean was rejected by a judge from the United States District Court Southern District of New York.
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued firms surged Rs 1,21,270.83 crore last week, with Reliance Industries becoming the biggest gainer, in line with an outstanding rally in benchmark equity indices. Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,027.54 points or 1.21 per cent. The BSE Sensex hit its record high of 85,978.25 on Friday.
Trump's tariff threats spooks markets; Sensex down 106 points
Finance, ICICI Bank, Mahindra &h Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Titan were among the gainers. Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Titan, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid and Infosys were the biggest gainers. In contrast, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato surged over 7 per cent. Maruti, ITC Hotels, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Titan and IndusInd Bank were among the biggest gainers. Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
A video post on Reddit, which has since gone viral, shows the L&T chief saying, 'I regret that I am not able to make you work on Sundays, to be honest. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy because I work on Sundays also.'
Stock markets closed lower for the second straight day on Friday amid relentless foreign fund outflows and losses in blue-chip stocks Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India. Benchmark BSE Sensex declined by 55.47 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 79,486.32. During the day, it tanked 424.42 points or 0.53 per cent to 79,117.37.
IT major Infosys on Thursday announced an extension of its digital innovation partnership with the Australian Open (AO) until the end of 2026. The extended collaboration with Tennis Australia will introduce enhanced broadcast match statistics and new initiatives to make tennis more accessible for all, while continuing to develop innovative digital stakeholder experiences, a statement said. The expanded collaboration will see Infosys and Tennis Australia continue to harness Big Data and Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Cloud technologies to elevate the AO experience for fans, players, coaches, partners and the media, it added.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were the biggest gainers. NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.
'We are getting to understand the mind of this generation.' 'Minor tweaks are being made to ease the process as we go along.'
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed demand and clients understand that every work does not have to be done onsite, which is expected to open a lot more offshoring opportunities from large global markets going forward, according to a top Infosys' executive. The Bengaluru-based company, which logged a 23 per cent jump in its December 2021 quarter revenue, also said its portfolio of services and capabilities, especially on cloud and digital, are resonating well with clients and it sees a good pipeline for that. "In the long run, if you see, COVID-19, while it had a huge impact on demand, the entire ability for the supply side to deliver in a remote environment really will shine up, and that has opened up the eyes of many of our clients that every work does not have to be done onsite.
Numeros Motors is also planning to come up with a passenger vehicle four-wheeler or a three-wheeler by 2027.
Hectic buying in blue chip counters like Reliance Industries, IT and teck shares boosted market sentiment. State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, ITC, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the biggest laggards. Tata Motors, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and Infosys were the gainers.
'Skilled labour is different from immigration.' 'While any adverse immigration ruling will impact Indians, it may not necessarily affect the IT services industry.'
India's second-largest software services company Infosys on Wednesday posted 12 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,686 crore for March quarter 2021-22. The Bengaluru-based company had registered a net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 5,076 crore in the corresponding period previous year, according to a regulatory filing. Infosys' revenue grew 22.7 per cent to Rs 32,276 crore in the quarter from Rs 26,311 crore in the year-ago period, it added.
IT major Infosys and Microsoft have entered into a multi-year strategic engagement with Ausgrid to accelerate the cloud transformation of the largest electricity distributor on Australia's east coast. This programme will further Ausgrid's vision to connect communities and empower lives with a focus on affordability, reliability and sustainability, Infosys said in a regulatory filing on Monday. "With over 4 million Australians relying on our services every day, it is essential we are maintaining our high standard of reliability and connectivity, as well as delivering on the expectations of Australian communities," Nick Crowe, acting CIO at Ausgrid, said.
In 2017, when Infosys announced that Salil Parekh would be its next chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), very few in the industry or the analyst community doubted his ability to bring the company back to a healthy growth trajectory, improve morale within the company and, more importantly, win the promoters' trust and investor confidence. There were reasons for this confidence. He was not only the deputy CEO of the Paris-headquartered IT services major Capgemini, but also one of the only non-European faces on the executive board of the company.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, NTPC, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Maruti and Power Grid were among the major laggards. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Infosys and ICICI Bank were the gainers.
The Income Tax Department on Tuesday said software services provider Infosys has been directed to look into the issue relating to malfunction of search option on the e-filing portal. After many users complained of issues while accessing the I-T portal and reported that it was hacked on Tuesday, which also happens to be the first launch anniversary of the portal, the department said Infosys is resolving the issue on priority. "Issue relating to the search functionality of the e-filing website has come to our notice.
The Indian government has sanctioned the creation of the first all-women Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reserve battalion, consisting of over 1,000 personnel. This move addresses the increasing demands on the force at airports and other vital installations. The new unit will be formed from existing CISF personnel and will be led by a senior commandant-rank officer.
UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang will visit India from February 4 to 8, his first official trip as President of the 79th session. Yang highlighted India's "remarkable transformation" over the past decade, particularly in digital and technological innovation, and plans to see how these advancements have reached the grassroots level during his visit. He also praised India's contributions to peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, and its voice for the Global South.
Stock investors have become richer by Rs 10.47 lakh crore in two straight days of gains in markets as benchmark Sensex jumped 2 per cent. At close on Wednesday, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies surged by Rs 10,47,565.48 crore to Rs 4,52,58,633.53 crore ($5.37 trillion) in two days of gains. "The feel good factor of Trump's win in the US election had a rub-off effect on world equity markets, including local indices as domestic investors resorted to value buying, especially in IT stocks, which pushed the benchmark Sensex above the 80k mark.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, NTPC, HCL Technologies, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank and Reliance Industries were the major laggards. Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. JSW Steel and Infosys were the laggards.
Weighing in on the 90-hour workweek controversy, ITC Ltd chairman Sanjiv Puri said that it is more important for the workers to be aligned to the grander vision of the company rather than the number of hours put in. Giving an analogy of many workers building a castle, he said, "If you ask a mason what he is doing, he might say he is laying a brick, another might say he is building a wall but some might say he is building a castle.
Infosys on Thursday posted an 11 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 6,021 crore for the September quarter and also announced a share buyback programme worth Rs 9,300 crore. The IT major will also pay an interim dividend totalling Rs 6,940 crore to the shareholders. The net profit of India's second largest IT services company stood at Rs 5,421 crore in the same period a year ago.
From the 30-share pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Wipro and HCL Technologies were among the major laggards in early trade. Nifty tumbled 314.95 points to 17,160.70.
Unlike AI uses for consumers, the next generation technology for enterprises will unfold over several years and the biggest challenge is to unleash AI for next wave of productivity for businesses, Infosys chairman Nandan M Nilekani said on Wednesday. While speaking at 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) of Infosys, Nilekani said the initial AI doomerism has quietened down and people have accepted that, like any other general-purpose technology -- electricity, nuclear energy, the internet etc, gen AI (generative artificial intelligence) has enormous potential for good when advanced within the guardrails of responsibility.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys jumped over 4 per cent each. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti and Reliance Industries were also among big gainers. Titan, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
The good news is that salary hikes are expected, though it is uncertain when they will be implemented.
A sharp fall in the equity market made investors poorer by Rs 5.29 lakh crore on Tuesday when the BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled over 800 points. A host of negative triggers -- muted quarterly earnings, continuous foreign fund outflows and weak trends in Asian and European markets -- dragged the benchmark indices lower. The BSE benchmark gauge tumbled 820.97 points or 1.03 per cent to settle at 78,675.18.
As the results season kicks in, the quarterly earnings numbers of several blue-chip firms -- such as Infosys and Reliance Industries -- along with global trends and trading activity of foreign investors, will determine equity market movement in the holiday-shortened week ahead, according to analysts. The domestic WPI inflation data for June -- scheduled to be announced on Monday -- will also influence trading sentiments, traders said. Markets will remain closed on Wednesday for Muharram.
