Saturday, June 11 2005 19:32 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Infosys Technologies Limited would consider a proposal to split the share to make it a Re one face value to attract more small investors.

At present, the Infosys share has a face value of Rs five.

At the 24th Annual General Meeting of the NASDAQ-listed software major in Bangalore today (Jun 11, 2005), a shareholder suggested to the company management to the make it a Re one face value share in the silver jubilee year (next year) so that more small investors can become the company sharehoders.

In response to it, Infosys Chairman N R Naryana Murthy said, "Heart of the (Infosys) Board members is in the right place....It's with less advantaged sections of the society. It's a good suggestion. The Board will deliberate on the suggestion".

Earlier, in his address to the shareholders, Murthy said Infosys is on its way to becoming a $2 billion company in the current financial year.

"Our future success also hinges on our ability to manage rapid growth. Today, we have all the ingredients in place to manage growth -- best-in-class talent, scalable processes, integrated systems and state-of-the-art infrastrucure", he said.

Murthy later told reporters the company has a group, which is looking at acquisitions.

"We have a group that is looking at acquisitions. If we find a good candidate, we will certainly move forward. There is no target date for any acquisition", he added.

Earlier, speaking at the AGM, Murthy said the company's goal is to earn ROCE (Return on Capital Employed) that is at least two times the cost of capital, and ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) that it at least three times the cost of capital.

He also said that the company's dividend policy dictates that it limit any dividend payout to not more than 20 per cent of net income.

"We are a high growth company, we need cash". In keeping with its dividend policy, the Board of Directors recommended a final dividend of Rs 6.50 per share (130 per cent).

"Along with the interim dividend of Rs five per share (100 per cent), the total dividend for fiscal 2005 would be Rs 11.50 (230 per cent). The dividend (including dividend tax), as a percentage of profit after tax, is 18.48 per cent as compared to 17.79 per cent in the previous year", he said.