BANGALORE: India's second-biggest outsourcer Infosys said Friday quarterly net profit jumped nearly 14 percent but the company's shares tumbled as the figures lagged market expectations.
Consolidated net profit in the three months to March rose 13.7 percent year-on-year to 18.2 billion rupees ($408 million), Infosys Technologies said in a statement, below market forecasts of 18.8 billion rupees.
Analysts called the performance disappointing and blamed it on higher costs, which hit margins.
Revenues climbed 22 percent to 72.50 billion rupees in the fourth quarter of the financial year ending March 31, 2010, the company added.
Analysts had expected revenues to increase 25 percent in the quarter.
Infosys shares slumped 7.55 percent to 3,056.4 rupees in early trade Friday at the Bombay Stock Exchange, on reports that analysts may downgrade the stock after the earnings figures.
News that one of its key directors on the board, Mohandas Pai, who also headed the human resource division, has decided to step down from the firm also undermined sentiment.
"Overall earnings were not attractive. Operating margins were affected by rising staff costs," said Sanjeev Hota, an analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage Sharekhan.
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