Infosys shares closed lower today ahead of the IT major's third quarter earnings announcement on Friday. This is the third straight day of losses for Infosys, India's second largest software services outsourcer.
The stock closed 0.34 per cent lower at Rs 2,320.35 on the BSE, underperforming the broader Nifty, which ended flat.
Results are likely to be weak on account of seasonality (holidays/furloughs), impact of Hurricane Sandy in the U.S. and continued weak spending from BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance verticals), which contributes a third to overall sales.
Analysts also expect Infosys to cut its full year dollar revenue guidance from 5 per cent to 3.8-4 per cent, but the bad news appears to have been priced in the stock. Infosys shares were down 12.5 per cent in the three months to December underperforming the broader BSE IT index, which fell 6 per cent over the same period.
Infosys is expected to post a 2.9 per cent sequential growth in sales at Rs 10,149 crore in the December quarter. The company had reported sales worth Rs 9,858 crore in the September quarter. US dollar sales are seen rising 3.9 per cent to $1868 million from $1797 million in the second quarter.
Net profit is expected to decline 5.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,244 crore from Rs 2,369 crore in the September quarter.
EBITDA or operational margins are likely to contract by 80-100 basis points to 28.4 per cent on account of 6 per cent offshore wage hike. Infosys may report $10 million in forex loss.
The company is likely to lower earnings per share forecast by 1 per cent to Rs 159 from earlier Rs 160.60 per share.
Lodestone is seen contributing $45 million in revenues this quarter.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
