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Cognizant Strikes Wipro. Infosys Next?

s India’s top two technology services exporters — Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. — compete to be the face of India’s outsourcing industry, a seemingly lower profile competitor,  Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., is sneaking up on the two.

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News

According to Cognizant CEO Francisco D’Souza, demand for outsourcing technology services remains strong, despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.

Cognizant, which is based in the U.S. but has most of its operations in India and a largely Indian workforce, has pinched the slot for the country’s third largest software exporter by sales, replacing incumbent Wipro Ltd. in the pecking order. That means it’s now likely to position itself against Infosys.

Overtaking Wipro was an expected development given the guidance issued by the two firms for the April-to-June quarter, but the stellar numbers Cognizant reported late Tuesday — revenue of $1.48 billion compared with Wipro’s nearly $1.41 billion — confirmed it.

Its April-to-June revenue was only about $186 million short of Infosys’s $1.67 billion revenue for the same period. Revenues for TCS, India’s biggest outsourcing company by sales, were at $2.41 billion for that period.

We’ve previously called Cognizant the dark horse of Indian outsourcing. Although it’s listed in the U.S., on the Nasdaq, Cognizant competes directly with its India-listed peers for a share of the global outsourcing market.

It’s certainly picking up the pace.

Cognizant posted 8.3% revenue growth from the preceding quarter. That compared very favorably with sequential growth of 7.4% for TCS, 4.3% for Infosys and just 0.5% for Wipro’s IT business.

The firm has a cheery outlook too, unlike India’s No. 2 software exporter Infosys. In a conference call with investors and analysts on Tuesday, Cognizant CEO Francisco D’Souza said demand for outsourcing technology services remains strong, despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.

Cognizant has forecast at least 32% growth in revenue in 2011 to $6.06 billion. The company follows a January to December financial year; Indian firms follow an April 1 to March 31 financial year. Analysts estimates Infosys revenue at $6.34 billion from January to December 2011.

Cognizant and TCS have consistently maintained that the challenging macroeconomic environment throws new business opportunities to Indian outsourcing companies. Infosys meanwhile has voiced greater concern about macroeconomic uncertainties, as has Wipro. Both firms, which have posted results for April-to-June that have disappointed analysts, are also suffering the pains of management restructuring earlier this year.

“In our view, the current demand environment is strong, but the top four India-listed IT companies differ materially with respect to their ability to capture growth opportunities,” Credit Suisse said in a note.

Executives at Infosys weren’t immediately available for a comment. The new CEO of Wipro’s IT business, T.K. Kurien, has previously dismissed the significance of the pecking order in comments to Dow Jones Newswires. Wipro has also previously attributed the slow pace of growth at its outsourcing arm to its limited exposure to certain key markets–especially the financial services segment.

Cognizant received about $613 million, or 41% of its revenue for the quarter from the banking and financial services segment–the fastest growing industry segment in IT services. That was better than Infosys’ $592 million in revenues Infosys got from the financial business in the June quarter, with Wipro trailing further behind at $376 million. TCS is well ahead of the other three, with over $1 billion in revenue from banking and financial services.

Sachin's 100th century would be bigger than 99.94: Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly has developed a reputation with his sharp comments and in-depth analysis of the game. He spoke to DNA at Lord’s where he made Test debut in 1996. Excerpts:

How is it coming back to Lord’s where you kick-started your career with a bang 15 years ago?
Lord’s is a special ground and I always enjoy coming here. The atmosphere is excellent; the support is equal for both teams. It is actually great to see so many Indian supporters here.

Is there a sense of deja vu for you? Did it occur to you that you should rather be in the middle than in the commentary box?
No, no. I’m done with cricket and I’m very happy about it. I’ve enjoyed my game and I’m enjoying my time in the commentary box.

How do you do it? Do you prepare for it as well?
No great preparation. I go out there and say what I think of the action in the middle. It’s quite easy, in fact.

Does the team have the bowling depth?
Yes, why not? Zaheer has been in tremendous form. It is unfortunate that he is not fit but Ishant (Sharma), I thought, has turned into a tremendous bowler. We bowled very well in the second innings yesterday (Sunday).

Do you think India will be able to win the series with the current bowling strength?
Why not? There is fire power. Sreesanth can be an ideal replacement if Zaheer is not fit. Ishant has been doing well any way. And Praveen (Kumar) has come off very well. I don’t see to many concerns in the bowling.

What is your prediction for the series?
It is difficult to predict. The teams are evenly matched. Any result is possible. I’m expecting a very keenly-fought series.

India started winning abroad under you. What does it take to win overseas?
First thing is self belief. You cannot go out there without thinking that you can win. I tried to instill that in the players and I’m happy that is continuing. Of course, belief alone cannot get you wins. You have to prepare and perform well.

How has the team changed since you left?
Not much at all, I think. Almost the same players are there. Only Anil Kumble is missing.

How is Dhoni doing as a skipper?
The results are there for everyone to see. His real test will be how he handles the situation once Sachin, Rahul and Laxman retire. I’m sure he will have the team ready to face the situation.

Who after Sachin & Co? Does that worry you?
I’m not exactly worried. Indian cricket did not feel any vacuum after Gavaskar, Viswanath, Vengsarkar. There were Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman. So, Indian cricket is robust enough to find the right personnel.

Rahul Dravid, finally, got his century after missing it in that 1996 Test...
I’m happy for him. He is batting as well as ever. Centuries at Jaimaica and Lord’s have been superb. I’m hoping he will go on.

What about Sachin Tendulkar? How can one stay motivated for such a long time?
Motivation is not an issue for him, for that matter for any player. If you are playing for India, motivation will come automatically. The key is to stay fit.

How do you look at the possible 100th international?
It’s an unthinkable phenomenon. I have never imagined such an achievement is possible in the game.

So, where do you place that record among other cricketing records?
At the very top. There cannot be a bigger record than this. I rate this even higher than 99.94.

Did Infosys Catch the ‘Tendulkar’ Bug?

“The market expects us to be like Sachin Tendulkar,” Infosys Ltd.’s Chief Financial Officer V. Balakrishnan told reporters at the presentation of the company’s April-June results on Tuesday. “When we score a 100, they expect us to score 200,” he added.

Infosys, which posted a 16% growth in net profit for this period, almost met the Street’s expectations and handsomely beat its own forecast. It also maintained its growth outlook for the current fiscal year.

But that wasn’t enough for the market. Investors are peeved with the company for not raising the dollar revenue growth outlook and the earnings per share estimate for the year. As expected, they hobbled to exit the stock.

In afternoon trading the stock fell 4.3% to 2,792.27 rupees ($62.4), but not before touching the day’s low of 2,749.35 rupees, in a weak Mumbai market. The benchmark Sensex is down 1.7%. The muted outlook from Infosys dragged fellow technology-players also down. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. was down 0.8% at 1,147.00 rupees, Wipro Ltd. was down 1.0% at 416.40 rupees and HCL Technologies Ltd. was down 0.7% at 490.00 rupees.

A sharp cut in stock prices after the announcement of quarterly results seems to be the new normal for Infosys: Over the last three successive quarters, it has consistently disappointed investors either with a poor performance or with a muted growth outlook. This time was no exception.

India’s largest outsourcer TCS has been insisting that outsourcing demand is strong, raising expectations on the industry more broadly, including on Infosys. Long-touted as the sector’s bellwether, many investors still believe there is no reason this kind of optimism shouldn’t apply to Infosys, too.  Perhaps not for much longer.

Over the last few quarters,  Infosys has been complaining about its clients’ unpredictable spending habits and about their delays in decision-making on spending. This seems to apply mainly to Infosys, rather than to other companies in the industry.

“There are no cuts in [clients' IT] budgets,” current chief executive and incoming executive chairman S. Gopalakrishnan said. “There may be some volatility in their spending.”  Analysts seem puzzled as to why, and point at Infosys’ conservative stance. Infosys has been blaming the uncertain global economic environment as the main culprit behind the behavior of its clients.

Surprisingly, these challenges didn’t seem to be weighing on the financial performance of global outsourcing bigwig–Accenture PLC.–or TCS and HCL Technologies closer home.  Both TCS and HCL Technologies have been outperforming Street expectations in the last several quarters. Both companies are set to report the April-June results in coming days.

After Infosys’s disappointing performance in the last few quarters, analysts are now waiting for the results of TCS and HCL Technologies to check the pulse of India’s outsourcing sector. “We expect TCS and HCL to clearly outperform expectations this quarter,” said one analyst. This could well mark the end of Infosys’ status as the sector’s bellwether.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/07/12/did-infosys-catch-the-tendulkar-bug/?mod=google_news_blog

Sachin on Maken's mind for Bharat Ratna

New Delhi: A day after reports emerged that Sports Minister Ajay Maken has written to the Home Ministry asking it to consider including sportspersons in the list of Bharat Ratna awardees, it is clear that Sachin Tendulkar is on his priority list for the honour.

In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Maken, when asked in a rapid fire round about what comes to his mind when he thinks of Bharat Ratna, the master-blasters name came the prompt reply.

While fans, players and eminent sports personalities have already expressed their opinion supporting the highest civilian award for Tendulkar, the Sports Minister's opinion is sure to hasten the process of including sportspersons in the gambit of personalities awarded with the Bharat Ratna, which is currently reserved for artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order.
Source:http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/item/175773-sachin-on-makens-mind-for-bharat-ratna

Actor Vijay gets standing ovation in Shanghai film fest

Chennai, : Actor Vijay was given a standing ovation at the Shanghai film festival. His recently released Kavalan was screened on June 11 with  Chinese subtitles. Later addressing the gathering Vijay said,” I am a great fan of International Super Star Jackie Chan. Tamil Nadu from where I come from has a very big fan following for his films. I am honoured to address  you  from this great country,”.

Speaking about his experience in attending an International Film Festival he said,” The film was enjoyed by the Chinese audience who liked the comedy sequences. There was pin drop silence toawards the last 20 minutes of the film. There was lot of moist eyes. Many Chinese viewers came out and addressed me by the character name. This shows that a good film can be liked irrespective of the language. The moment will remain unforgettable,”

Chinese box office takings surged 64 percent over 2009 to more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) last year and the country added 313 movie theaters and 1,533 new screens, for a current total of about 6,200 screens. The number of screens is projected to reach 20,000 in five years.

“China’s box office grows at an average rate of more than 40 percent every year,” said  Rupert Murdoch. “There is no more exciting film market in the world.” China maintains import restrictions that effectively limit the country to 20 foreign blockbusters a year. Film imports are still controlled by the state-owned China Film Group.

“This presents significant challenges,” Murdoch said, adding that limited access to foreign content encourages piracy.

http://truthdive.com/2011/06/14/actor-vijay-gets-standing-ovation-in-shanghai-film-fest.html

Source:

I can relate to Tendulkar in dedication and aggression: Bolt

NEW DELHI: Yearning to see Sachin Tendulkarplay, Olympic and world champion sprinter Usain Bolt on Tuesday said he can relate to the Indian cricket icon when it comes to dedication and aggression.

Asked about the qualities he admires in Tendulkar, Bolt said, "Tendulkar is obviously dedicated. He is aggressive but calculated and knows how to make runs."

"He (Tendulkar) also plays for the fans ... really similar to what I do," Bolt said.

Tendulkar recently met tennis great Roger Federerduring the ongoing Wimbledon Championships inLondon and Bolt said he would be game for a similar meeting with the Indian.

"I hope to be able to watch him play sometime in future but I don't have any plans to meet him at the moment. He is always welcome to come and watch me run," said the Jamaican triple Olympic and World Championships gold medallist.

Bolt described Tendulkar as one of the greatest cricketers but picked fellow West Indian Vivian Richards as the greatest of all time.

Asked to take his pick among Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Vivian Richards, Garfield Sobers and Shane Warne, Bolt said, "That is a difficult one, they were all great in their time, but I think I would give the edge to Sir Vivian Richards."

Bolt said just like Tendulkar, he also has to deal with the expectations of millions of his fans but the adulation motivates him.

"I use it (pressure of expectation) as a positive. It is nice when so many people are interested in what you do and concerned by the outcome. I find it motivating," said Bolt, the world record holder (9.58secs) in 100m.

Bolt's famous 'bow and arrow' celebration pose was imitated by the Indian cricket team during the recent World Cup and he said he felt honoured.

"It is a great honour when someone else copies my pose. I have seen it in cricket and football and it makes me smile every time," he said.

Bolt explained that his running schedule was the reason he skipped the Commonwealth Gameshere last year but would look forward to run in India in future.

"The Commonwealth Games could not have been part of my schedule due to the time of year when they were staged. I normally end my season in September, rest in October and then start training in November for the following season. I would like to run in India in the future," he said.

"My coach and agent make all decisions about where I race. We look at the overall picture taking into consideration our major goals. Nobody tries to influence us to run in competitions that are not part of the schedule." 


Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/athletics/I-can-relate-to-Tendulkar-in-dedication-and-aggression-Bolt/articleshow/9036243.cms