A volatile currency environment, an economic crisis that could extend to the middle of 2010, reduction in the volume of work have all been cited as reasons for the caution on the business outlook front by the Infosys top management. “We believe in the short term the global economic environment will continue to be challenging. We are working closely with our clients to help them navigate the downturn. We continue to invest in the future to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the medium to long term,” CEO and managing director Kris Gopalakrishnan said. “In the medium to long term we believe the growth story for IT services remains and will continue,” he said.

In dollar terms, Infosys has changed its April projection for annual revenue from the $4.35 billion and $4.52 billion, a 6.7 per cent to 3.1 per cent decline range, to the range of $4.45 billion and $4,52 billion, a decline of 4.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

Commenting on the performance of the company in the first of the current fiscal, Gopalakrishnan said “it was a good quarter. We improved on our guidance in dollar terms”. He added that there was need for caution on account of volatility.

The Infosys CEO said the company is pursuing a few deals with governments in India in the current depressed environment. “You will see PSUs grow as an industry vertical in the India business in the coming days,” he said.

Initial signs of global economic recovery that emerged in the last quarter have vanished affecting business, officials said. “The green shoots seem to have disappeared. There is a lot of uncertainty due to contradictory data. It could be a more protracted downturn,” said the company’s head for the banking and financial services business Ashok Vemuri.

... contd.