India's second-biggest software services exporter, Infosys Technologies reported a 2.7 per cent rise in the net profit after tax at Rs. 1,582 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. The performance was much higher than the street expectations.

The company raised its full-year forecast as the demand for outsourcing recovered internationally. Chief Executive S. Gopalakrishnan indicated that the company is a trend setter for the industry and expects the technology budget for 2010 similar to that of the last year.

Income for the firm rose 2.8 per cent from the previous quarter to Rs. 5,741 crore for the same quarter. Sequential growth of 3.3% was registered as the earnings per share decreased from Rs. 28.66 to Rs. 27.75. Sales for the Dec quarter was recorded at Rs 5335 crore up from Rs. 5201 crore in the previous quarter.

The Income for the third quarter is expected to be between Rs. 5,675 crore and Rs. 5,721 crore translating to a year on year growth between 0.7% and 1.5%. EPS for the quarter is expected to decline between 9.0% to 8.3% or Rs. 25.62 and Rs. 25.83. The whole year earnings per share is expected to rise 0.4 percent compared with its previous forecast for a 6.7-7.1 percent drop.

A range of recent orders coupled with stable prices have raised the outlook for the technology firms after a year of global recession. The outsourcing sector for the country is worth $60 billion. The firms in the sector have now started hiring as the global economies recover from the financial crisis. Infosys is holding a conference on its 337-acre global training centre campus in Mysore, Karnataka.

The rise of rupee was a trouble for the sector along with higher salaries and tough competition from firms like IBM, Accenture. The shares of the company valued at $32 billion after it almost doubled in 2009.