Infosys shares tumble 9%; mcap tanks Rs 47,907 crore post earnings announcement

Shares of Infosys tanked 9% in early trade on Monday, wiping out Rs 47,907.7 crore from its market valuation, after the company's March quarter earnings came in below expectations.

The stock tumbled 8.95% to Rs 1,592.05 on the BSE.

At the NSE, it plunged 9.06% to Rs 1,590.

The company's market valuation eroded by Rs 47,907.7 crore to Rs 6,85,277.72 crore on the BSE.

"Infosys results came worse-than-expected with rising attrition and weakening margins even though growth prospects appear bright. IT valuations may come under pressure dragging the index down," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

IT services major Infosys on Wednesday posted a 12% rise in March quarter net profit and said it is moving its business out of Russia, joining a growing roster of companies pulling out of the country following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

India's second-largest software services company saw its net profit in January-March surge to Rs 5,686 crore and projected a 13-15% revenue growth in the fiscal year that began on April 1, 2022 on the back of a "strong demand environment" and "robust deal pipeline".

Infosys hired 85,000 freshers globally and in India during the year ended March 31, 2022, and is planning to hire over 50,000 freshers in FY23.

However, the firm's 12-month attrition soared to 27.7% in the March quarter, as an industry-wide war for talent and dynamic demand environment kept the sector's attrition levels high.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company posted net profit (after minority interest) of Rs 5,686 crore in the just-ended quarter, against Rs 5,076 crore in Q4 FY21.

While the Q4 results scorecard reflects a 12% year-on-year growth in net profit, the numbers are 2% lower than the December quarter.

On why the Q4 numbers have trailed the street's expectations, Parekh said, while there has been a strong volume growth in the quarter, there was an issue with a client related to a contract situation.

"We see a very good momentum into our business as we look ahead," Parekh affirmed.

Stock markets were closed on Thursday for Mahavir Jayanti and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti, as well as on Friday on account of Good Friday. 

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