Infosys to execute capital allocation plan 'as soon as possible'

Bengaluru: IT company Infosys on Friday said it is awaiting certain approvals for its up to Rs 13,000 crore capital allocation programme and hopes to execute its plans "as soon as possible".

The Bengaluru-based company, which posted better-than- expected 1.3 per cent increase in its June quarter net profit, however, sidestepped questions on the recent reports of stake sale by the founders.

"We reiterate our commitment to execute that (capital allocation policy) in a timely manner," M D Ranganath, CFO at Infosys said.

He highlighted that Infosys is a company listed on multiple bourses and has a large global shareholder base.

"The mechanism of distribution requires certain regulatory approvals and we want to close it as soon as possible," he said.

Asked about the market buzz around Infosys promoters planning to sell shares in the company, its CEO Vishal Sikka said he considers the promoters to be "incredibly distinguished".

"...Whatever they decide to do...Is something I always believe will be (in) interest of the company and something that I personally have trust on," he said, refusing to comment further on the issue.

On whether the promoters' possible stance on such issues weighed on the mind of the top management while considering capital allocation strategy, Ranganath said, "Absolutely not".

"As I said it is a regulatory approval, so it has nothing to do with any other aspect...So we are following it up...As soon as we have an outcome there, we will quickly execute it in a timely manner," he said.

The Infosys board has already identified an amount of up to Rs 13,000 crore (USD 2 billion) to be paid out to shareholders during financial year 2018 through dividend and share buyback.

Over the past few months, a number of Indian IT firms have announced buyback offers to return surplus cash on their books to the shareholders.

Share buybacks typically improve earnings per share and return surplus cash to shareholders, while also supporting share price during periods of sluggish market conditions.

TCS, which had a cash pile of over Rs 43,000 crore on its books, has already completed a Rs 16,000 crore buyback programme. Wipro has also said that it will consider buyback of equity shares.

Infosys, which has liquid assets including cash and cash equivalents and investments of Rs 39,335 crore as on June 2017, had earlier this year drawn flak from ex-CFO Mohandas Pai over the huge cash pile on the company's books.

Over the last few months, the Infosys top management and co-founders (led by N R Narayana Murthy) have also been engaged in public stand-off over various issues, including corporate governance, salary of senior executives, and severance package of ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal.