Infosys, which is also listed on Nasdaq, said October-December net profit rose to 16.41 billion rupees ($336.3 million) from 12.31 billion rupees a year earlier.

A Reuters poll had forecast Bangalore-based Infosys, whose clients include ABN AMRO, Goldman Sachs and Philips Electronics, would post third-quarter net profit of 15.37 billion rupees.

India's large pool of English-speaking engineers and cheaper wages have helped attract outsourcing from Western firms such as Citigroup, Nortel, Qantas and Airbus .

But a recession in the United States, which accounts for more than half the sector's revenue, and turmoil in the global financial sector have halted the sector's scorching pace of growth and battered stocks.

And revelations of overstated profits and fictitious assets at fourth-ranked Satyam Computer Services have added to the pressure on the $52 billion information technology and back-office outsourcing sector.