Sales: According to a brokers' poll conducted by NDTV, Infosys may report a 2.95 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in sales at Rs 9,900 crore over Rs 9,616 crore in the June quarter.
Net profit: Infosys may report a 3.64 per cent sequential rise in net profit at Rs 2,372.5 crore in Q2 against Rs 2,289 crore.
Dollar revenue: This is probably the most crucial matrix for a company earning a bulk of its revenues from overseas. Dollar revenue may rise 3.08 per cent at $1806 million against $1752 million in the June quarter, aided by the Lodestone acquisition and cross-currency benefits. Infosys had acquired the Swiss consultancy firm for $350 million in September.
Guidance: Infosys is seen raising its fiscal 2013 dollar revenue growth to 6-6.5 per cent from 5 per cent forecast (at $7.343 billion) in the June quarter. Infosys has lagged its quarterly guidance in the previous three quarters, but it discontinued the practice of giving out quarterly guidance in July.
Earnings per share: Infosys is seen cutting its fiscal 2013 rupee EPS guidance by 3.7 per cent to Rs 161 from earlier projection of Rs 166.46 in the June quarter. Guidance will be affected by USD/INR rate, which stood at 52.86 on September 30. The June quarter EPS guidance was based on USD/INR rate of 55 per dollar.
Ebitda margins: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margins are seen expanding 40 basis points sequentially to 31 per cent. Absence of visa costs, which Infosys incurred in the June quarter, will aid margins.
Forex gains: Infosys is likely to report gains of Rs 36.5 crore in the September quarter against a loss of Rs 71.5 crore in the June quarter. Infosys had edge positions at $1114 million as of September 30.
Infosys may announce a wage hike for employees as part of Q2 results, which will to impact the guidance for fiscal 2013. Infosys is the only top tier IT firm, which held back wage hikes this year. Employee costs accounted for 55 per cent of revenues in fiscal 2012. According to JP Morgan, a global investment bank, the net impact of wage hikes on EBIT margins could be 200-250 basis points for fiscal 2013. The 2013 fiscal EPS may be hit by 100-125 basis points.
Share prices: Infosys shares are down 3 per cent over the last week, more or less in-line with the broader BSE IT index. Shares in the company fell 8 per cent (June quarter), 13 per cent (Marc quarter), and 8 per cent (December quarter) over the previous three results days.
Management commentary on pricing, wage hike and hiring will be closely watched. While volume is expected to grow by 3.4 per cent in Q2 against 2.7 per cent in Q1, pricing is likely to be stable in contrast to the 3.7 per cent decline witnessed in the June quarter.
