Infosys down after results

Infosys declared a set of not-so-good numbers for Q4FY17. Its consolidated net profit fel 3% (QoQ) at Rs.3603 crore on a very flat, 0.89% drop in revenue at Rs.17,120 crore.

In Infosys, the main focus is always on the guidance which gives one an indication of things to come. And this time around it guided for a revenue growth of 6.5 to 8.5% in constant currency terms, which is lower than what was widely expected by almost all analysts and as per the growth rate in the indsustry too. Cognizant has guided growth of 7 to 9% for 2017.

The company has tried to soften the blow of the poor show by gving out a very liberal dividend of Rs.14.75/share. The company has said that its current policy is to pay dividends of up to 50% of post-tax profits of the financial year. Effective from FY2018, Infosys expects to payout up to 70% of the free cash flow – this is Rs.13,000 crore or $2 billion, either through dividend payout or through share buyback.

The market is not too enthused and the stock price, which had closed yesterday at Rs.968.80, opened higher at Rs.974 but soon slipped to Rs.941 levels. It currently remains in the red, down 2% at Rs.950 levels.