Profits rise at India's Infosys

India's second-biggest software firm Infosys has reported a 37% rise in profits as foreign firms continue to outsource parts of their business.

Net profits for the three months to June were 5.32bn rupees ($122m; £68 plus 1m), on sales of 20.7bn rupees.

But the rise in profits still fell short of analysts forecasts, which foresaw earnings of 5.41bn rupees.

Infosys said it had hired more than 3,000 employees during the quarter, and added 36 new customers.

"Our strategy has been to pursue high-quality prospects among Global 500 companies that will give us large growing revenue streams for many years," Infosys head worldwide sales Basab Pradhan said.

"This quarter we started relationships with nine Global 500 companies in diverse industries like pharmaceuticals, supermarkets, equipment manufacturing, automotive, utilities and insurance and banking in the US and Europe."

Demand grows

The company's client list of 443 includes many of the world's best-known firms, including investment bank Goldman Sachs and US retailer JC Penney.

The US accounted for 64% of total sales, while Europe followed with 24%.

Strong demand has been helping Infosys expand and it currently has close to 40,000 workers.

Infosys is expecting sales to grow by more than 26% over the coming 12 months.