Infosys wins 13 large deals with contract value of $2.8 bn.

IT major Infosys won 13 large deals totalling $ 2.8 billion in total contract value (TCV) in the second quarter ended September.

“We witnessed another quarter of all-round growth in industry segments and geographies which is a testimony to our strong credentials and client relevance,” said chief operating officer U.B. Pravin Rao. “Large deal wins were $2.8 billion.”

The $2.8 billion in TCV is the highest ever in the company’s history, coming as it did from 13 deals. From a year earlier, large deal wins for the first half was 75% higher, said the company.

Commenting on the markets, Mr. Rao said, “Retail was closely linked to consumer sentiment. The spends in retail have come down and the company has started seeing softness and slowdown in the space. We must also watch for seasonal weakness in the second half. But we have a diversified portfolio and we remain optimistic,” he added.

As per company CFO Nilanjan Roy, about 110 basis points of margin improvement has come from operational parameters and cost optimisation in Q2.

“We got the execution machinery right in the September quarter. We got utilisation up, that’s the first thing that reflects in the bottom line. We got onsite-mix coming down and we are getting more and more work offshored to India. We are working on automation and that’s the continuous engine where we have moved 2,500 to 3,000 people from fixed price projects and plough them back and give a part of that money back to the clients,’’ said Mr. Roy.

“We took the first step towards implementation of our new capital allocation policy by increasing interim dividend by over 14% compared to FY 19,’’ added Mr. Roy.

Attrition declines

The company saw its attrition falling a bit in Q2. On the tech front (annualised standalone), attrition was 19.4% compared to 21.5% in the previous quarter. Voluntary attrition was 18%, said the company.

“We are also focusing on manager enablement by rewarding them and investing in training people. The new employee proposition is to engage in a meaningful way,” Mr. Rao said.

In the September quarter, the firm hired 14,000, adding a net of 7,457 people, of which some 6,000 were freshers joining in India. It also hired over 800 techies in other geographies.

Tech major Tata Consultancy Services has already reported net addition of 14,000, signalling a positive outlook for the tech industry and the job markets.

THE HINDU