After delivering stellar performances with big-bang surprises in the previous two quarters, IT blue chip Infosys Technologies posted relatively moderate results in the third quarter of 2006-07. Meeting market expectations, the company recorded a net profit of Rs 983 crore for the quarter, up 51.5 per cent from the Rs 649 crore posted during the corresponding period in the last fiscal. The company’s income for the period is up 44.4 per cent to Rs 3,655 crore. On a quarter to quarter basis, net profit is a mere 5.8 per cent rise over the Rs 929 crore registered for the second quarter of this fiscal.Company officials said fluctuations in the rupee rate had resulted in a loss of Rs 147 crore or 200 basis points (bps) during the third quarter. Infosys has projected a closure of the current fiscal with a 46.1 per cent to 46.2 per cent growth in annual income. The projected income for the year is between Rs 13,910 crore and Rs 13,919 crore. For the fourth quarter of 2006-07, income is expected to be in the range of Rs 3,789 crore and Rs 3,798 crore, Infosys CEO and managing director Nandan Nilekani said.The company’s share which dipped below Rs 2,100 later managed to close higher at Rs 2,183. Analysts are optimistic about the IT sector performance. “Financial results of Infosys are the key indicator for many other technology companies and signal the sheer scale of the Indian economy. These results certainly set Infosys on track to reach its target revenue of $3 billion in 2007,” said Rishi Sahai, director, IndusView.Sensex climbs 268 points on fund buying MUMBAI: Bulls staged a comeback after keeping away in the last five trading sessions. The 30-share BSE Sensex spurted 268.55 points, or 2.01 per cent to 13,630.71 in volatile movements. It opened on a weak note at 13,331.38 and went on to touch a low of 13,303.22 as selling continued. The index gathered pace as the day progressed and it surged over 300 points in late session to strike an intra-day high of 13,667.80. The S&P CNX Nifty jumped 91.95 points (2.39 per cent) to 3,942.25. Frontline IT stocks witnessed portfolio churning after IT bellwether Infosys unveiled its December quarterly results. The BSE IT index gained 2.05 per cent to close at 5,230.98. Wipro jumped 5.3 per cent and Satyam Computers gained 3.1 per cent. Reliance Communications was the top gainer, up 5.91 per cent to Rs 431.HDFC Bank Q3 net rises 32%MUMBAI: HDFC Bank has posted 31.74 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 295.64 crore for the quarter ended December 2006, as against Rs 224.40 crore a year ago. The bank has recorded a total income of Rs 2132.61 crore for the December quarter, a 44.49 per cent increase over the Rs 1475.94 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2005.Mastek Q2 net soars 92 %MUMBAI: IT firm Mastek has registered a 92 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 16.94 crore for the quarter ended December 31 as against Rs 8.81 crore in the year-ago period. It posted a total income of Rs 128.5 crore for the latest quarter, a gain of 36 per cent as against Rs 94.26 crore. The board has announced an interim dividend of Rs 3 per equity share of face value Rs 5 each for the year 2006-2007. The consolidated results for the Mastek group show that it has posted a net profit after tax and minority interest of Rs 21.84 crore for the latest quarter as compared to Rs 16.17 crore for the quarter ended December 2005. Total income has also increased to Rs 209.67 crore from the Rs 175.15 crore.
