FIIs stake in Infosys hit 9-year high

Foreign investors hiked their stake in Infosys to a nine-year high of 42.10 per cent in the January-March period of 2014.

This is despite the software giant expecting a sluggish growth in revenue during the quarter.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) held 40.65 per cent stake in Infosys during the October-December quarter, and raised it to 42.10 at the end of March 31, 2014, as per the latest information available with the stock exchanges.

This was the third quarterly increase in FII holding in Infosys. Moreover, the current FII holding of 42.10 per cent in the country's second largest software services exporter is the highest in nine years. The level stood at 42.87 per cent during the quarter ended March 31, 2005.

Also, the number of FIIs who hold the stake in the company has risen to 984 from 897 at the end of December 2013 quarter.

Infosys CEO and MD SD Shibulal, last month, said that he expects sluggish growth in January-March quarter due to muted spending by clients, especially in retail sector.

He had also said that muted growth in the fourth quarter of 2013-14 may spill over to the next financial year as well.

Infosys is scheduled to declare its quarterly earnings on April 15.

Foreign investors have raised their exposure in Infosys by 2.55 per cent since the appointment of N R Narayana Murthy as executive chairman of the board in June 2013. FIIs held 39.55 per cent stake in the company at the end of June 30, 2013 quarter.

Murthy was brought back to head the IT major in June last year, following quarters of laggard performance.

For the last fiscal, which closed on March 31 this year, Infosys expects revenue growth to be somewhere between 11.5 per cent and 12 per cent.

Despite the overseas investors raising their stake in Infosys, the company scrips have underperformed the broader market by declining nearly 6 per cent compared to 5.7 per cent surge in the BSE's benchmark Sensex during the quarter.

On the other hand, the holding of domestic institutional investors in Infosys decreased to 13.66 per cent in January-March quarter 2014 from the preceding quarter.