Infosys on Thursday reported first-quarter net profit grew 7.1% to ₹6,368 crore, from ₹5,945 crore in the year-earlier period.

Revenue from operations rose 3.6% to ₹39,315 crore, from  ₹37,933 crore, the Bengaluru-based IT services company said.

However, on a sequential basis, net profit fell 20% from ₹7,969 crore in the quarter ended March.

Buoyed by a ‘strong’ Q1 and ‘positive deal pipeline’, Infosys raised its revenue growth guidance for FY25 to 3%-4% (in constant currency terms), from 1%-3% earlier, and said it expects operating margin to be in a 20%-22% band.

“We had an excellent start to FY25 with strong and broad-based growth, operating margin expansion, robust large deals, and highest ever cash generation,” CEO Salil Parekh said at a media conference. “This is testimony to our differentiated service offerings, enormous client trust, and relentless execution,” he added.

Overall volumes were boosted by an improvement in the financial services sector in the U.S., the company said.

Besides the improvement in large deal wins, Infosys’s acquisition of the Germany-based Engineering R&D services provider in-tech, announced in April, had also helped the IT firm raise its revenue guidance.

“Our relentless drive on cost optimisation through Project Maximus, a comprehensive margin expansion programme, is reflected in the all-round improvement in key operating metrics leading to 1.0% growth in operating margin in Q1,” said CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka.

Commenting on the market environment, Mr. Parekh further said, that the pricing environment had remained stable and financial services in the U.S, were starting to see a recovery, especially in the cards, payments and capital markets areas.

Hiring plans

Infosys said it would hire 15,000 to 20,000 freshers this year as it was seeing good demand coming back from the European markets. The company also hinted that it might hire laterals depending on requirements. Employee utilisation was 85.3% in Q1, it added.

The hiring announcement comes after the company suffered attrition for six consecutive quarters. “We will look at hiring 15,000-20,000 freshers this year based on how we see the growth. This will be a combination of both on-campus and off-campus,” added Mr. Sanghrajka.