IT major Infosys on Tuesday said that its net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010, rose to Rs 1,617 crore from 1582 crore in the previous quarter.

During the quarter, Infosys’ revenue rose 3.5 per cent to Rs 5,944 crore from Rs 5,741 crore in the previous quarter.

An NDTV poll of analysts estimated the fourth-quarter net profit at Rs1,602 crore and sales at Rs.5,886 crore.

For FY10, Infosys reported a net profit of Rs 6,270 crore.

For FY11, Infosys forecast a revenue growth in the range of 16 per cent to 18 per cent in dollar terms.



During the fourth quarter Infosys and its subsidiaries saw a net addition of 3914 employees.

“We have been able to take advantage of the oppoertunitie4s of the in the market and grow faster due to our investments in capacity and capacity building even during the economic downturn,” said S Gopalakrishnan, CEO and MD.

The company's cash and cash equivalents stood at $3.5 billion at the end of March 31, 2010. "We maintained our margins in one of the toughest years for the industry. The currency volatility continues to be a concern for the industry. We have an active hedging programme to minimise its impact on our margins," Infosys CFO V Balakrishnan said.

The board has declared a final dividend of Rs 15 per share for the fiscal on every share of Rs 5 held. Infosys, which has Goldman Sachs, BT Group and BP Plc among its clients, added 47 clients during the quarter.