Infy, Satyam profits spurt, shares down

Over the last seven quarters, income from Y2K projects has come down to 5.8 per cent in the last quarter from 24 per cent whereas e-commerce has increased its share in the kitty from 1.3 per cent (Q1 98-99)to 15.6 per cent in Q3 ’99-2000. “Infosys has managed the transition from Y2K opportunities to e-commerce seamlessly,” managing director Nandan M Nilekani said. “While Y2K revenue has dropped significantly, new business opportunities in e-commerce have helped the company achieve reasonable top and bottom line growth.”

“E-commerce initiatives have become an integral part of every business around the world," Infosys chairman NR Narayana Murthy said. The firm’s shares fell to their daily circuit-breaker limit of eight per cent, dropping Rs 1,095.95 to Rs 12,604.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Infosys, which has a weighting of over 15 per cent in the bellwether Sensex, the second highest in the index, accounted for 67 points of the index’s total decline of 222 points. Tracking the gains on the Nasdaq late last year, the Infosys local share moved up to a high of Rs 16,910.20 on January 4 from a December 1 level of 9,264 before retreating. ADRs of Infosys ended Monday up $5 at $358 against an offer priceof $ 34. Two ADRs are the equivalent of one local Infosys share.

Satyam computer: The Infosys results overshadowed the better than expected performance of Satyam Computer Services Ltd whose net profit for the quarter rose 83 per cent but the shares were down almost five per cent or Rs 115.10 at Rs 2,352 in afternoon trade. Satyam’s net profit grew to Rs 36.187 crore from Rs 19.810 crore in the year-ago quarter while total income rose to Rs 178 crore from Rs 100 crore. Analysts had expected the company to report a net profit in the range of Rs 30-33.5 crore.

Revenue was expected to come in at Rs 150 crore to Rs 170 crore. "The main growth driver in Satyam’s future valuations will be its holding in Satyam Infoway, the Internet portal where the company has a 59 per cent holding," said a dealer. However, Satyam Infoway, which acquired IndiaWorld for Rs 499 crore, made a net loss of Rs 4.81 crore as against Rs 6.55 crore in the previous quarter.

POLARIS SOFTWARE: The company made a higher netprofit of Rs 8.774 crore during the third quarter ended December 1999 as against Rs 3.96 crore in the same period of last year. Total revenue of the company moved up to Rs 41.1 crore from Rs 16.29 crore.

SONATA SOFTWARE: The company recorded a total income of Rs 42.6 crore for the third quarter ended on December 1999, an increase of 47 per cent over the quarter in the previous year. B Ramaswamy, managing director and president, Sonata Software said at its board meeting here today that the company had recorded a profit of Rs 6.229 crore, an increase of 101 per cent over the same quarter in the previous year.

KALE CONSULTANTS: KCL has registered a net profit of Rs 2.53 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 1999 as compared to Rs 4.15 lakh in the corresponding period last year.