India's Infosys Posts Strong Third QuarterIndia's Infosys Posts Strong Third Quarter

India's Infosys Technologies Ltd. continues to cash in on the outsourcing boom.

The company, which counts Apple Computer, Boeing, and Cisco Systems among its U.S. customers, said Wednesday that sales for its third quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 53% to $423 million. Net income rose 57% to $112 million, while earnings per share increased 56% to 42 cents.

Infosys officials say the growth is being led by sales to U.S. companies in the insurance and health-care industries, more of which are looking to cut costs by sending basic IT and back-office operations to low-cost Indian service providers. The company added more than 2,200 employees in its third quarter to help meet the demand and expects to hire an additional 6,000 workers in 2005. Infosys added 38 new customers in its third quarter, company officials say.

Looking ahead, Infosys says it expects to post fourth-quarter sales of between $452 million and $454 million, representing growth 49% to 50% from one year earlier. For its fiscal year ending in March, Infosys expects sales of $1.59 billion--a 50% increase over the previous year.