Infosys Boosts Investor Payout as Sales Forecast Disappoints
- Company to increase dividends, buybacks based on free cashflow
- Shares fell in early trade as outlook lags estimates
Workmen prepare an electronic screen at an Infosys Ltd. popup venue.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Infosys Ltd. will return $2 billion to shareholders this year and pledged to raise dividends and stock-buybacks as it deploys more of its cash hoard after delivering a sales outlook that fell short of estimates.
Starting this year, it will begin distributing as much as 70 percent of annual free cash flow, compared with a previous policy of sharing up to half its post-tax profit. The company forecast revenue growth of 6.5 to 8.5 percent for fiscal 2018 on a constant currency basis, lagging analyst projections for growth of 7.2 percent to 9.4 percent. Shares of Infosys fell as much as 2.9 percent in early trade.