Infosys shares fell as much as 2.7 per cent on Friday after the IT major announced yet another top-ranking management exit. The stock was the top loser on the 50-share Nifty index in morning trade.
Prasad Thrikutam, in charge of strategic sales, marketing and alliances at Infosys, resigned on Thursday, the company said. Mr Thrikutam also headed Infosys in America. Infosys president Pravin Rao will take up his portfolio, an Infosys spokeswoman said.
(Read: Infosys Strategic Sales Head Prasad Thrikutam Quits)
Infosys has lost at least 11 senior managers over the past year or so, as India's second-largest IT services exporter looks for a new chief executive. The last exit was of president and board member B.G. Srinivas, who quit on May 29.
The company's "prolonged search" for a chief executive officer is creating "stress" among Infosys employees, said V Mohandas Pai, who is a former CFO and human resources head of Infosys.
The uncertainty has also impacted Infosys shares. Infosys is among the handful of Nifty stocks that have fallen over a one-month period. Between May 4 to June 4, Infosys shares have fallen 7.6 per cent as compared to an 8 per cent rise in the Nifty. Infosys is the second worst performing Nifty stock in the last one month after Dr Reddy's Lab.
The fall in Infosys shares have come at a time when Indian stock markets have hit a record high. The BSE Sensex closed above the key 25,000 levels yesterday and the index traded within 125 points of its all-time high hit on May 16.
Infosys has been struggling with lower growth than its peers like TCS and Cognizant Technology Solutions. It has also been hurt by a higher-than-average attrition rate.
A sharp appreciation in the Indian rupee has also pressured IT stocks such as Infosys, which earn a major portion of their revenues in dollars and benefit from weak currency.
As of 09.20 a.m., Infosys traded 1.7 per cent lower at Rs 2,989.85 as against a 0.8 per cent rise in the broader Sensex.
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