Infosys Net Profit Up 1.4% in Fiscal 1st-Quarter -- Update

Infosys Ltd. (500209.BY) on Friday posted a 1.4% rise in fiscal first-quarter net profit as it grapples with a changing technological landscape and increased focus on its use of skilled-worker visas in the U.S.

India's second-largest outsourcer by sales said profit in the three months ended June 30 stood at 34.83 billion rupees ($540 million), compared with INR34.36 billion a year ago. That was marginally higher than the INR34.44 billion that had been projected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue grew 1.8% to INR170.78 billion.

The Bangalore-based company maintained its projection that revenue for the current financial year, which ends March 31, 2018, will grow between 6.5% and 8.5% in constant currency terms.

"Over all, I am very happy with our performance," Chief Executive Vishal Sikka said at a press conference. He said that the company was working to increase the sophistication of its offerings and that "we will count on strong growth in these services."

Like its competitors, Infosys is seeking to provide customers with more-complex services, including cloud computing and big data analytics, rather than the traditional information-technology offerings the company has relied on in the past.

The company is also dealing with increased scrutiny of Indian outsourcers' use of the H-1B skilled-worker visa program in the U.S. under the Trump administration.

Infosys in May said it planned to hire some 10,000 American workers in the U.S. over the next two years, with the first of four work centers set to open next month in Indiana, where Vice President Mike Pence previously served as governor. Mr. Sikka also reiterated the company's intention to hire 2,000 people in North Carolina in the coming years.

Shares of Infosys were recently up 0.6% at INR983.50.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (532540.BY), India's largest IT-services company by revenue and an industry bellwether, on Thursday recorded a 5.8% drop in net profit for its latest quarter.

The company's stock was recently down 1.7% at INR2,397.50.

Write to Newley Purnell at newley.purnell@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2017 04:37 ET (08:37 GMT)