Date:30/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/30/stories/2006033003420400.htm

Back Market expectations

Vishwanath Kulkarni

Bangalore , March 29

The marketmen are expecting rich rewards from Infosys Technologies Ltd over the next few months. The occasion, they said, would be that of Infosys completing 25 years of operations in July and crossing the $2-billion revenue mark by the end of the current quarter. The employee headcount would also cross the 50,000-mark by the end of the current quarter.

The expectations are also bolstered by the huge reserves and surplus that Infosys has on its balance sheet. At the end of December 31, 2005, Infosys' reserves and surplus was approximately 52 times that of its equity. Its reserves and surplus stood at Rs 7,113 crore against the share capital of Rs 137 crore.

Infosys had rewarded its shareholders and employees generously when the company crossed the billion-dollar revenue mark in 2004.

The company had then issued a 3:1 bonus and declared hefty dividends. "There are expectations that such a thing could be replicated this time also," analysts said, adding the company was sitting on a huge pile of cash.

It also depends on the cash requirements for the expansion plans, they said.