Mumbai, March 29: The market is abuzz with speculation that Infosys Technologies will treat its investors with a special dividend and a bonus issue this year as part of its silver jubilee celebrations.

When contacted, the company spokespersons said they would not be able to comment on such speculation. Infosys is due to declare its annual results on April 14.

The stock price today jumped by Rs 79.9 or 2.7 per cent to end at Rs 3,038.1 against yesterday’s close of Rs 2,958.2. It touched an intra-day high of Rs 3,044.

In 2004, to mark the occasion when it achieved revenues of $1 billion, Infosys had declared a one-time special dividend of 2000 per cent or Rs 100 per share with a face value of Rs 5 each. The company had also announced three bonus shares for every one held by the investors.

The company had reserves and surplus of Rs 5,106.44 crore at the end of fiscal 2004-05. It has been pretty generous when it comes to rewarding investors with four bonus issues and strong dividend paying record (see chart).

During the last quarter of the current fiscal, the company had projected that income is likely to be in the range of Rs 2,590 crore and Rs 2,599 crore, a growth of 30.35-30.80 per cent. Earnings per share before exceptional items is expected to be between Rs 24.30 and Rs 24.70, thus showing a growth of 27.83-29.93 per cent.

During the year ending March 31, 2006, the company said income is expected to be in the range of Rs 9,487 crore and Rs 9,496 crore, a growth of 33.10-33.20 per cent, while it increased its annual EPS guidance to 30.70-31.27 per cent.

For the third quarter of the fiscal, Infosys had reported a profit growth that was in line with expectations. The net profits for the third quarter of the year ended December 31, 2005 grew 31 per cent to Rs 649 crore. Income for the period stood at Rs 2,532 crore, showing a growth of around 35 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

The company, established in 1981, had issued bonus shares to its investors in the ratio of 1:1 in the years 1994, 1997 and 1999 and has maintained a consistent dividend paying record since 1995.