Infosys Board Not Averse To A Buyback, Says Chief Operating Officer
Shareholder activism not necessarily a bad thing, says Pravin Rao.
Infosys Ltd. may follow its peer, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., and announce a share buyback. The IT giant has been in the news after some of its founders voiced concerns over a host of issues including cash allocation in the company.
“We have increased the dividend payout for the past three or four years, and at an appropriate time we will look at it. We are not averse to buyback, the board is not averse to it,” Pravin Rao, Infosys’ chief operating officer, told BloombergQuint in an interview on Thursday.
Infosys has been increasing its dividend payout for the past few years, but has refrained from announcing a share buyback.
Shareholder activism is not necessarily a bad thing, but its the board's fiduciary responsibility to find the right balance between using the cash for operational efficiency and keeping shareholders happy, says Rao.
Industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies' (NASSCOM) decision to hold back from issuing a growth guidance for the next financial year won't deter Infosys from coming out with its own annual guidance, says Rao. He, however, was not willing to comment on whether the IT giant will be able to meet the revised guidance of 8.6 percent growth set by the industry body for the current financial year.
Also Read: TCS To Consider Buyback On February 20