Mumbai, Jan. 13: Infosys Technologies on Thursday said its cash and cash equivalents declined by nearly 4 per cent to Rs 14,819 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

As on December 31, cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 14,819 crore, as against Rs 15,401 crore on September 30, 2010, the software exporter said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

However, Infosys today reported 14.17 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,780 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010.

The consolidated revenue of the country’s second largest software exporter rose to Rs 7,106 crore against Rs 5,741 crore over the year-ago period.

Besides, during the third quarter, Infosys applied for 17 patent applications in India and the US. With this, Infosys has an aggregate of 270 patent applications (pending) in India and the US and has been granted 18 patents by the US Patent and Trademark office.

“We have been increasing our global footprint and diversifying into new areas. We invested in research on new products and services which have been successfully adopted and implemented by our clients,” the company said.