IT major Infosys’ second-quarter net profit grew 28.6 per cent to ₹3,096 crore on higher sales, compared to the year-ago period, an increase that will help meet its annual sales growth forecast. Revenue during the quarter rose 2.9 per cent to ₹13,342 crore.

Infosys said it expects revenue in the financial year ending March 2015 to rise 7-9 per cent, maintaining the guidance it had given in July and meeting analysts’ expectations.

Announcing the second-quarter results on Friday, CEO and MD Vishal Sikka said that to make Infosys a bellwether company again, it would need to take outsourcing services and renew them with the power of automation, analytics, big data and the cloud. The company said it would place its bets on automation and artificial intelligence to drive itself out of a prolonged lean phase.

Sikka said the company’s long-term target was to grow at 15-18 per cent, which would see the business rebound to its earlier growth path within the next two years.

While the systems and processes of the bread-and-butter business will be renewed to make it more relevant to the next generational needs of businesses, the company also wants to build capabilities in newer areas, Sikka said.

The board approved an interim dividend of ₹30 a share and a bonus equity share for each share held. The company’s stock reacted positively to the results and the bonus announcement, ending 7 per cent higher at ₹3,884.20 on the BSE, on a day when the broader markets fell.

In dollar terms, the second-quarter revenues grew 3.2 per cent to $2.2 billion on a sequential basis. Net profit grew 6 per cent to $511 million. Liquid assets, including cash and cash equivalents, were $5.4 billion as on September 30, 2014, compared with $4.9 billion as on June 30, 2014.

The board also announced that it has accepted Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s decision not to accept the post of Chairman Emeritus to avoid any perceived conflicts with the management. KV Kamath will be the new Chairman of the Board.

Attrition rate up The attrition rate topped 20 per cent during the quarter, which means one out of every five employees exited the company during the period. However, the company was hopeful it will be able to reverse the trend within the next two quarters, to the industry average of about 13-15 per cent.

Revenues from its biggest market, North America, grew 3.1 per cent sequentially; Europe was up 4.2 per cent while India declined 5.1 per cent. Revenues from the rest of the world increased 2.8 per cent.

Ashish Chopra, an analyst with Motilal Oswal Securities, said that while the company’s strategic intent of renewing the way it renders current services while building capabilities in new areas is positive, it is a time-consuming process. He also said that deals for large outsourcing contracts will need to improve for growth to accelerate further.