King Of Cloud Solutions

Rank 7 - Infosys

Salil Parekh CEO & MD

Sector: IT/ITES

Overall Avg. Score: 2.96

Revenue: Rs 102,673 crore

A global leader in technology services and consulting, Infosys is in the 22nd year of its global listing. 

It is India’s second largest information technology company and has continuously done well for several years at a stretch. In this year's BW Businessworld Most Respected Companies rankings, Infosys has, in fact, gained three spots and is ranked at the seventh position thanks to good set of financial numbers, trustworthy leadership and great work culture. 

The company has been driven by the principle of helping businesses move to cloud efficiently. The company underlines the point that in the wake of the global crisis, as the world turned increasingly virtual, the need to accelerate the journey to the cloud, in order to digitise, became even more urgent. Slowing down meant risking the organisation’s operational resilience or getting displaced by a rival who is better prepared for the next normal. "Our thriving cloud community brings enterprises the ability to rapidly launch new solutions and create business models to meet changing market needs. The community is further amplified by the Infosys partner ecosystem that brings together the hyperscale cloud providers, enterprise app providers, startups and several other technology innovators," it said. 

Impressive Financials

That is why despite a challenging year for the global economy, IT major Infosys reported a 16.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 19,351 crore for the financial year 2020-21. The company’s revenue rose 10.7 per cent YoY to Rs 1,00,472 crore during the fiscal under review. The company’s operating margin also expanded 320 basis points to 24.5 per cent during the fiscal. 

“A strong momentum exiting FY21, alongside a focused strategy to accelerate client digital journeys, gives us confidence for a stronger FY22,” the company’s CEO and MD, Salil Parekh, said. Commenting on the fiscal year, Parekh said the digital business of Infosys grew 29 per cent and now accounted for 52 per cent of the overall company revenues in the fourth quarter. 

“We had over USD 14 billion of large deals in the past year, the highest in our history. We have continued to gain market share. We generated approximately USD 3 billion of free cash flow,” Parekh said in his letter to the shareholders. 

In FY21, Infosys’s earnings per share grew 17 per cent over the previous year in rupee terms. The company awarded dividend of USD 1.5 billion for the full year and announced a share buyback of USD 1.2 billion. 

“Our total shareholder return, over the past three years, is the highest among our peer group,” said Parekh. In FY21, Infosys turned carbon-neutral, 30 years ahead of the global guidelines. The company has enhanced its ESG commitments by outlining ‘Infosys ESG Vision 2030’. 

Client-focused Company

What is Infosys doing right? It has transformed into a very client-focused company. The company is investing in designing and developing the right solutions required for accelerating digital transformation. 

“Infosys will continue to innovate and is well-placed to lead the industry in the coming years,” said Chairman Nandan M. Nilekani. He further expands: "First and foremost, under our CEO Salil Parekh, ably supported by the global senior leadership, Infosys has transformed into a very client-focused company. Our stable and motivated leadership is working quietly and without fuss to ensure Infosys is the partner of choice for the world’s top companies as they navigate their next in these uncertain and rapidly changing times." 

This, Nilekani said, has led to unprecedented transformational large deals. Second, the company is investing in designing and developing the right solutions required for accelerating digital transformation. 

Third, the reinvention and modernisation of Infosys’ own digital infrastructure has prepared the company well. We wish it the best for its future endeavours.