BackInfosys banks on Europe, Asia to boost growth
Infosys banks on Europe, Asia to boost growth
PremiumFile photo
Singapore: India’s No.2 software services exporter, Infosys , aims to double the revenue share from Europe to 40% of its total sales by the end of its 2014 financial year, as cost-strapped global companies step up outsourcing.
The Bangalore-based company, a pioneer in India’s $76 billion IT sector, has grown rapidly by employing thousands of engineers in low-cost Indian centres and catering to overseas firms, mainly based in the United States.
“Our target is by 2014, our business will be 40% from Americas, 40% from Europe and 20% from Asia," Ashok Vemuri, Head of Americas and member of the company’s board told Reuters in an interview at Infosys’ office in Singapore.
Valued at nearly $32 billion, Infosys competes with top ranked Tata Consultancy Services , Wipro and global firms including IBM and Accenture for large IT outsourcing deals.
Vemuri said companies in Europe were taking a longer time to decide on IT services contracts due to the euro zone debt worries, but the long-term outsourcing trend was intact.
“Today, unlike in the past, they are looking over their shoulder. They are saying, ‘let me get one more approval from my boss. They want to throw this to the top of the house".
Europe is the second-largest market for India’s software firms, which have been looking to increase their sales to the region to hedge against their exposure to the United States that accounts for more than half their sales.
Infosys’s revenue jumped nearly 20% to $3.4 billion in the six months ended 30 September.
Vemuri said the company is still expanding in continental Europe.
“Amidst all this uncertainty and chaos, there are significant opportunities," said the former investment banker who joined Infosys in 1999.
Infosys earned 65.3% of its revenue in the second quarter from the United States versus 65.8% from a year ago, while Europe accounted for 20.5% of its revenue, down from 21.8% a year ago.
The firm, which counts Goldman Sachs and BT among its main clients, reported a 9.7% rise in quarterly profit last week, and cut its full-year sales outlook by less-than-expected, easing market worries of a sharp slowdown.
Asia’s tech spending to jump
Vemuri was confident about the prospects for Infosys’ main financial customers.
“There are no budget cuts, no project cuts," he said. “Most companies in the Fortune 500 are using technology to dig themselves out of the hole with increasing automation."
Infosys shares have fallen about 20% this year versus a 16 % fall in the broader market index .
Vemuri said Infosys sees Asia, which contributes around 12% of its revenue, as a region where the next big wave in technology spending will take place.
“We need to be in Asia because the next big wave of tech consumption of a very different type is going to happen in Asia," said Vemuri, who was in Singapore to officially launch its IT development centre in the city-state.
For now, the bulk of Infosys’ business is from Australia and the company is making a big push to ramp up investments in Singapore and China.
Infosys’ Singapore centre near the airport can seat up to 450 people and the company plans to boost this number to 1,000 by the end of 2012.
“Singapore is the hub and the central nodal point for us as we expand our business in Asia," Vemuri said.
In China, Infosys is investing $125-$150 million in a new campus. The project will be completed over 3 years and will have a capacity to seat 8,000 employees.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
