Five factors that made Infosys post its best quarterly results in 4 yrs

Infosys, the country's second largest exporter of software services posted its best quarterly results in nearly four years. Infosys on Tuesday reported a 5 per cent increase in quarterly net profit at Rs 3,030 crore in the June quarter, up from Rs 2,886 crore a year ago.

Five factors which could have led to the turn in Infosys' fortunes:

1. 2,600 promotions in June quarter: The IT services major awarded as many as 2,600 promotions in the June quarter. Finacle and EdgeVerve head Michael Reh, BPO head Anup Uppadhayay and consulting head Sanjay Purohit were elevated to the post of executive vice president in the last quarter, according to a report in Economic Times. Last year, the company had given 14,000 promotions. Attrition of techies in Infosys declined 9.2 per cent to 14.2 per cent in first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal from 23.4 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago. Infosys chief operating officer UB Pravin Rao in a post-results press conference said that the employee-retention and employee engagement measures initiated by the company in the past few quarters have showed results.
2. Infosys handed 80 per cent variable pay-outs in the June quarter. In the March quarter, 70 per cent of variable pay-outs were given to the employees.
3. Surge in demand for software outsourcing services from clients in the United States, its biggest market. Its clients include Apple Inc, Volkswagen AG and Wal-mart Stores Inc.
4. Appointment of Vishal Sikka as the company's CEO and MD since August 1, 2014, definitely seems to have worked in the company's favour. He is said to have been involved with reskilling of employees, investment in start-ups and overseeing large-scale acquisitions. He also hired high-profile former SAP colleagues to strengthen the top management.
5. Revamped company strategy: The CEO office itself monitored the top 15 accounts of the company. Sikka brought the company's focus on top 100 clients and on another 100 clients which were on the company's wish list.