Mumbai, Jan. 18: In keeping with the Reserve Bank directive that mandated banks bring down their holdings in non-finance companies to 30 per cent, ICICI Bank has decided to cut its holding in 3i Infotech.

ICICI Bank now holds a little over 48 per cent in 3i Infotech, which is one of the top four software product companies of the country.

At a board meeting held today, 3i Infotech directors passed a resolution on the issue of fresh equity shares/equity-linked instruments to raise resources from the domestic or international markets.

The issue could bring down the stake of ICICI Bank in 3i Infotech. The market was also agog with rumours that ICICI Bank is talking to potential strategic investors for its stake. This, however, could not be confirmed.

Meanwhile, 3i Infotech today announced its results for the quarter ended December 31, 2006. While consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter at Rs 171.6 crore grew 53.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, sequentially the revenue from operations grew by 18.3 per cent.

Consolidated profit after tax but before minority interest & exceptional items for the quarter stood at Rs 27.9 crore, which is a growth of 69.8 per cent over the same period last year. The consolidated net profit grew 20.6 per cent on a sequential basis.

For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue from operations at Rs 445.1 crore grew 49.5 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. Consolidated profit after tax but before minority interest & exceptional items for the nine months stood at Rs 72.4 crore, signifying a growth of 80.7 per cent over the same period last year.

Commenting on the performance, managing director V. Srinivasan said, “3i Infotech has a two-pronged growth strategy. While we continue to aggressively grow our existing line of products organically, we are also looking to fill gaps in our offerings through acquisitions. This has allowed us to build integrated product and solution offerings.”