Infosys eyes acquisitions in Europe, Japan

India's second largest software and services exporter Infosys Technologies is keen on acquisitions in Europe and Japan and in the areas of consulting, SAP implementation and BPO. Senior officials of the company said that they would be comfortable with a deal size of $600-700 million (around Rs 2,930-3,420 crore).

"More than the price and valuation of the company, its profile is important and it should help in our growth. Besides, we will continue with our expansion plans. We are committed to regions like China, Mexico and Eastern Europe," said Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys at the India Economic Summit being held in New Delhi.

The company's December quarter revenue will see an adverse impact due to the rise of dollar against other currencies. "Definitely, currency movements will have an impact but it is difficult to say what exactly it is," said Kris. About 40 per cent of the company's revenue comes from non-US markets.

During its second quarter results ended September 30, 2008, Infosys management revised its full-year dollar guidance down to 13.1 to 15.2 per cent — perhaps its lowest revenue growth since inception — from 19-20 per cent. It also cut earnings per share to $2.24 from $2.32-$2.36 projected in July.

Kris said that while there were indications that IT budgets in 2009 would be lower than this year, the offshoring component will be higher.

Despite these conditions, the company is on track to add 25,000 employees in the current fiscal. "We have not revised our salaries downwards. The utilisation has come down and the bench is higher but that is alright. We are taking this opportunity to train employees and we are increasing the R&D spend," added Kris.

As for cost cutting, the company didn't share the internal targets but cuts can happen in discretionary spending like travel and entertainment.