Infosys shares fall nearly 15 pc; mcap declines by Rs 73,060 cr post earnings announcement

PTI, Apr 17, 2023, 11:44 AM IST

New Delhi: Shares of Infosys on Monday tanked nearly 15 per cent in morning trade, wiping out Rs 73,060.65 crore from its market valuation, after the company reported lower-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter net profit and gave a weak 4-7 per cent revenue growth guidance for FY24.

The stock tumbled 12.21 per cent to Rs 1,219 — its 52-week low mark — on the BSE.

At the NSE, it fell 14.67 per cent to its 52-week low of Rs 1,185.30.

Infosys was the biggest drag on both the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty.

The company’s market valuation also declined by Rs 73,060.65 crore to Rs 5,08,219.35 crore.

The 30-share BSE Sensex quoted 891.04 points or 1.47 per cent lower at 59,539.96 in morning trade, pulled down by Infosys and weak trends in other IT counters.

Other IT firms also faced heavy drubbing, with Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro falling in the range of 3-6 per cent.

”The worse-than-expected Q4 results from Infosys with only 4-7 per cent revenue growth for FY24 will drag down IT stocks impacting the Nifty,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Infosys on Thursday reported lower-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter net profit and gave a weak 4-7 per cent revenue growth guidance for FY24 amid the tightening of IT budgets by clients following a turmoil in the US banking sector.

Infosys’ latest report card was a disappointment on several fronts – the company missed revenue guidance for FY23 hit by ”unplanned project ramp downs and decision-making delays by some clients”, the company said.

With global macroeconomic uncertainties looming, it has given a subdued 4-7 per cent revenue growth forecast for FY24, with top management cautioning that ”the environment remains uncertain”.

Infosys had last given single-digit revenue guidance in FY19.

India’s second-biggest software services firm posted 7.8 per cent year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 6,128 crore for March quarter. But the profit fell 7 per cent when compared to the preceding December quarter.

The revenue growth in constant currency for FY23 came in at 15.4 per cent, lower than the guidance. Notably, during the Q3 earnings announcement in January this year, Infosys — which competes in the market with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and other IT firms — had raised FY23 revenue guidance to 16-16.5 per cent (against the previously projected band of 15-16 per cent).

Infosys’ Q4 year-on-year-growth was 8.8 per cent and the sequential decline was 3.2 per cent in constant currency terms.

Revenue rose 16 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of FY23 to Rs 37,441 crore but represented a decline of 2.3 per cent when compared to December 2022 quarter.