BENGALURU: India's Infosys Ltd on Wednesday bumped up its annual revenue forecast and posted a near 12% jump in quarterly profit, riding on strong demand for its software services from businesses accelerating their digital transformation due to the pandemic.

The country's second-largest IT services firm by revenue said it expects revenue growth of 19.5%-20% on a constant currency basis for the financial year to March, compared with the 16.5%-17.5% growth predicted in October.

"We expect the healthy technology spend to continue with large enterprises progressing on their digital transformations," Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh said in a statement.

India's $194-billion IT industry has been a big beneficiary from the pandemic spurring global companies to bolster investments in services ranging from cloud-computing, digital payment infrastructure to cybersecurity.

Large deal signings for the third quarter were at $2.53 billion, a near 18% rise from the second, the company said.

Crosstown rival Wipro earlier on Wednesday reported a 30% rise in revenue for the December quarter and a near flat net profit, while the country's largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services, is set to announce results later in the day.

Bengaluru-based Infosys said consolidated net profit climbed to 58.09 billion Indian rupees ($786.06 million), from 51.97 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue rose to 318.67 billion rupees, with the banking, financial services and insurance unit, which accounts for over a third of the total, posting a 16.85% growth in the quarter.

The company's shares climbed over 50% in 2021, outperforming an about 31% jump for larger rival TCS.