India's Infosys halves FY revenue growth outlook as clients cut spending

BENGALURU, July 20 (Reuters) - Infosys (INFY.NS), Indias second-largest IT services firm by revenue, halved its full-year revenue forecast on Thursday and posted a first-quarter profit that missed estimates as clients cut back spending in a cloudy economic environment.

Infosys U.S.-listed shares fell nearly 7% in pre-market trading after the company cut its full-year revenue growth of 1%-3.5% on a constant currency basis from 4%-7% previously.

There are some discretionary spending cuts from clients in the short-term and overall decision-making has slowed down, CEO Salil Parekh said in a media conference.

Consolidated net profit rose 10.9% to 59.45 billion rupees ($725.5 million) in the three months to June 30, missing analysts view of 61.41 billion rupees as per Refinitiv IBES.

Indias IT services companies have kicked off the earnings season on a weaker note, with market leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS) warning of an uncertain demand environment, and smaller peers HCLTech (HCLT.NS) and Wipro (WIPR.NS) reporting and projecting muted growth.

Businesses are cutting back spending on discretionary IT projects amid steep inflation that stoked interest rates.

Infosys saw its large deal signings rise to $2.3 billion from $1.7 billion year ago.

($1 = 81.9409 Indian rupees)