“Infosys is well-positioned for another year of market-leading performance in a post-pandemic era…We will seize the moment to expand market share further,” said Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman at the Infosys 40th AGM conducted on Saturday, June 19, 2021. Nilekani said that the hybrid world is here to stay and will require people collaboration. He further said that technology has become an urgent and important business capability. Clients need help from a trusted thought leader and digital solutions expert and Infosys is committed to being that partner.
Salil Parekh has been relentlessly focused on transforming Infosys into a client-focused company, said Nilekani. Large deals in FY21 at $14 bn have been the highest in the history of Infosys and acquisitions during the year have strengthened digital capabilities.
Nilekani added that the global workforce continues to work remotely taking advantage of a wide spectrum of digital tools, the company has a robust innovation system and will continue to invest in their most valuable asset ‘our people’. He said the company has expanded its US hiring commitment to 25000 by 2022 and committed to double the Canadian workforce to 4000 employees by 2023. Infosys took various efforts towards Covid relief work and the company has contributed Rs 200 cr towards Covid-19 relief efforts.
Salil Parekh, CEO and MD, Infosys said, “FY21 saw revenues grow at 5% and the company delivered industry-leading growth despite Covid challenges with an operating margin of 24.5%. Digital revenues form 51.5% of total business in Q4FY21.”
Parekh said, “Balance sheet is strong, debt-free and liquid and that is how we want to keep it, it is a pristine balance sheet and perhaps best in the corporate world”. The company has proposed to return Rs 50000 crore over 3 years to shareholders and remain committed to return ~85% to shareholders over 5 year period. The focus will be on bringing in new acquisitions and reiterated FY22 revenue growth guidance of 12% to 14% and FY22 operating margin guidance of 22% to 24%. During Q4FY21, Infosys announced a buyback of Rs 9200 Crore at a buyback price of Rs 1750/share.”
Infosys had started a large deals program in Fy18 at $3 bn and have expanded large deals to $14 bn in FY21, this is the highest in Infosys history, said Parekh. Nearly 66% of large deals were net new in fy21 thus giving an incredible foundation to the company. FY21 saw two leading partnerships: Vanguard and Daimler and the company has significantly increased accounts above $100mn per year. Infosys was the first company to launch cloud-first service brand under Infosys Cobalt. Infosys cobalt helps clients transform faster in their cloud journey. The company has been extremely resilient during the pandemic and service delivery to clients. Infosys saw very strong growth in every financial metric be it revenues, cash flows etc in FY21.
