Infosys To Reward Shareholders With Highest Payout
Infosys will now distribute up to 70 percent of its free cash flow to shareholders.
Infosys Ltd.’s reward to shareholders in 2017-18 is expected to be more than three times the payout in the previous year.
The information technology major said it will return up to Rs 13,000 crore to shareholders in financial year 2017-18 from its cash surplus – either as a buyback or a dividend or a combination of the two. The company also revised its capital allocation policy, and will now distribute up to 70 percent of its free cash flow to shareholders.
According to Religare Capital Markets and BloombergQuint’s calculations, a 70 percent payout could give investors over Rs 6,700 crore, taking the total for the year to Rs 19,700 crore. This will be a little less than what Infosys paid its shareholders in the previous four financial years put together.
For FY17, the company has declared a Rs 5,900-crore dividend, its highest payout in 17 years.
Infosys is the fourth technology company to announce a record payout to shareholders, following the likes of Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies.
But former Chief Financial Officer and Board Member Mohandas Pai, told BloombergQuint that Infosys needs a better capital allocation policy.
