Infosys Europe revenue cross $2 billion for first time

Country's second largest IT firm Infosys has crossed the $2 billion revenue mark in Europe for the first time, driven by strong demand for consulting and system integration (CSI) services.

The Bangalore-based firm, which reported revenues of $8.24 billion for the year ended March 31, 2014, saw the European region accounting for 24.4 per cent of the topline.

"If you look at the last year, we have had a good growth in Europe of over 17 per cent. And for the first time, we have crossed the $2 billion revenue mark in Europe, which is a significant milestone," Infosys President and Member of Board BG Srinivas told investors on a conference call.

Last quarter, the revenue percentage from Europe was 25 per cent and Infosys added 17 new clients in the region, he added.

"Overall, CSI revenues from Europe is significantly higher as compared to rest of Infosys; it is closer to 42 per cent, primarily led with SAP which again has a dominant presence in the Continent Europe," Srinivas said.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2014, North America accounted for 59.8 per cent of Infosys' revenues (from 60.2 per cent in the year-ago period), while Europe contributed 25.2 per cent (from 25 per cent).

The decline in share of sales from North America comes at a time when industry analysts are betting on improving macro-economic sentiments in the region.

Large outsourcing deals in the US are expected to be in the offing as clients spend more on IT and outsourcing compared to the last few years.

This also signals that Indian IT players are making headway in the region, especially Continental Europe, which was dominated by local players.

Although Europe ranked second in terms of revenue contribution to the export revenues of the over $118 billion Indian IT-BPO market, the success seems to have been limited to the UK and Nordic countries and Continental Europe largely remains untapped.

During the fourth quarter, Infosys signed four large deals with total contract value of $700 million with two deals each in the Americas and Europe regions.

Talking about the countries in the region, he said France continues to be "slow" even as it is sees some "early signs of deal activity picking up".

"In the UK, we see activities in financial services, telecom, energy and utilities, and retail. In the Continent, in Germany and Switzerland, there is significant activity in the manufacturing sector and life sciences," Srinivas added.

He said Infosys was expanding presence in other markets like Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, orway and Sweden) and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) as well.