Infosys shares soar ahead of Q1 results, still 2% away from lifetime high

Infosys share price rallied nearly 3 per cent on Friday ahead of its June quarter results for FY19 due later in the day post market hours. The stock gained as much as 2.83 per cent to Rs 1331.35 on the BSE. It was the top gainer on Sensex and Nifty.

Brokerage Kotak Institutional Equities estimate Infosys to report 6.4 per cent annual growth in profit after tax and a marginal jump of 0.50 per cent in sequential terms. It expects the company to maintain status quo in its revenue guidance. 

Edelweiss Securities, meanwhile, expects Infosys to post 3.2 per cent growth QoQ in constant currency, impacted 90 bps by cross currency (cc) headwinds, implying 2.3 per cent growth in US dollar terms. 

"All eyes will be on growth in digital services, BFSI & retail commentary, deal wins and large deal renewals during the quarter. Margin is likely to decline 70bps QoQ on account of wage hikes (120bps), higher visa costs (50bps) and higher investment in sales & digital, which will be partially offset by INR depreciation and operational efficiencies. We expect management to maintain FY19 revenue growth and margin guidance. We maintain our positive stance on Infosys anchored by strong fundamentals and attractive price," said Edelweiss.

The brokerage has a 'buy' rating on the stock. 

Infosys rival Tata Consultancy Services, meanwhile, was trading flat in today's session. The country's largest software services firm reported Rs 7,340 crore consolidated net profit in Q1, registering 23.5 per cent annual and 6.3 per cent sequential growth. The Mumbai-based IT firm said consolidated revenue for the quarter (Q1) under review grew 15.8 per cent annually and 6.8 per cent quarterly to Rs 34,261 crore.

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Operating margin remained flat at 25 per cent as in the previous quarter (25.4 per cent).

Post Q1FY19 results, TCS share price had hit record high. It will be interesting to see if Infosys stock does that too. The stock is just 2 per cent away from its lifetime high of Rs 1,358, hit on July 3.