Indian investors were a shade jittery on the eve of IT major Infosys' fourth quarter results due tomorrow. The worry is not about the results per se.

But it is about the guidance for the next fiscal that Infosys will present, said analysts.

The Infosys stock was the biggest loser on the exchanges and closed at Rs 2,750, down 1.87 per cent from the previous close on the BSE. Market talk expects Infosys may give a guidance of sub-10 per cent growth in dollar terms, say analysts.

“The growth numbers may not look so impressive. There could be around 12 to 14 per cent growth in dollar terms. Infosys is known to give a conservative guidance, so the markets are apprehensive about what is in store for them,” said Mr Shrikant Shetty, Equity Research and Technical Analyst, Unicon Financial Intermediaries.

A report by HSBC Global expects Infosys to grow at 13 per cent in FY13 and guidance to be in the range of 11-15 per cent.

“We expect growth estimates for FY13 to be 12 to 14 per cent in dollar terms. The EPS could be between Rs 159 and Rs 164,” said Mr Abhishek Shindadkar, IT analyst, ICICI Securities.

The uncertainty on the discretionary spending in IT and the currency fluctuations are also expected to impact the guidance.

Benchmark

Experts are of the view that NASSCOM's estimate of 11-14 per cent growth could be taken as a benchmark for Infosys. As result season nears, market watchers are of the opinion that the fourth quarter volume growth will be muted. Revenue growth will be lacklustre especially in the tier-one IT companies.

> priya.s@thehindu.co.in

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