Infy BPO to buy captive operations of clients

[dwarakesh]

Infosys BPO, the back-office arm of India's second-biggest software exporter Infosys, plans to acquire captive operations of customers, as the company seeks to grow its share of the $80-billion global BPO market.

Almost two years ago, Infosys BPO acquired back office operations of Philips, which assured around $250 million in revenues over the next few years. The acquisition helped Infosys gain entry into Poland and other European countries.

Infosys BPO entered into a seven-year contract with Royal Philips Electronics of Netherlands to provide finance and accounting services and the processing of purchasing orders in a deal valued at $250 million. The Philips centres are turning profitable, Mr Chaudhry added.

Infosys BPO registered a consolidated revenue of $316 million for FY09, recording a y-o-y growth of around 26%. Meanwhile, Infosys continues to see customers lower their back office spending. "During FY09, Infosys BPO took a hit of around $16-17 million because of client ramp downs and cross currency volatility," he said.

However, the company will expand in newer markets of continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. "We have already appointed a new sales head for the Latin America region, besides tapping into newer verticals."

source: economictimes