Infosys on Wednesday posted a 17.47 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit at Rs 5,076 crore for the March quarter of financial year 2020-21 as against Rs 4,321 crore posted in the same period of last fiscal. The board also approved a share buyback programme worth up to Rs 9,200 crore priced at Rs 1,750 per share, a premium of 25 per cent over the stock’s closing price of Rs 1,398.60 per share on the BSE on Tuesday.

The net profit dipped by 2.32 per cent from Rs 5,197 crore posted in the December quarter of FY21. Revenue for the quarter under review rose to Rs 26,311 crore, up 13.1 per cent, from Rs 23,267 crore in Q4 of FY20.

The board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 15 per share. Together with the interim dividend of Rs 12 per share already paid, the total dividend per share for FY21 will amount to Rs 27 which is a 54 per cent increase over FY 20. With this, the company has announced total dividend of Rs 11,500 crore for FY21.

Infosys said operating margin for the year expanded by 3.2 per cent and free cash flows increased by 44.4 per cent.

On Wednesday, the board recommended capital return of Rs 15,600 crore including final dividend of Rs 6,400 crore and open market buyback of shares of Rs 9,200 crore. “We have crossed a milestone of Rs 100,000 crore in revenue in FY21. Our intense focus on client relevance, growing our digital portfolio with differentiated capabilities like Infosys CobaltTM, and empowering employees have helped us emerge as a preferred ‘partner-of-choice’ for our global clients,” said Salil Parekh, CEO and MD.

“A strong momentum exiting FY21, alongside a focused strategy to accelerate client digital journeys, gives us confidence for a stronger FY22,” he said. On Monday, TCS reported a 14.9 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 9,246 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021 as compared to Rs 8,049 crore in the same quarter last year.

Pravin Rao, COO, Infosys, said, “While our employees continue to work from home through this health crisis, we remain focused on their wellness, including facilitating vaccination rollout for eligible employees. Attrition has picked up, largely reflecting a strong demand environment, but we remain confident of our employee engagement initiatives, vast talent pool and training capabilities to ensure seamless execution.”