Wipro Apr-Jun quarter net profit up 1.2%; announces Rs 11,000-cr share buyback

Bengaluru: India’s third largest IT firm Wipro on Thursday posted a 1.2 percent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,076.7 crore for the April-June quarter.

Besides, the company’s board has announced a share buyback proposal of Rs 11,000 crore entailing 34.3 crore equity shares at Rs 320 apiece.

The Bengaluru-based firm had registered a net profit of Rs 2,052 crore in the year-ago period. Its total income grew marginally to Rs 14,281.4 crore during the first quarter.

Wipro, which gets bulk of its topline from IT services, said it expects revenues from that business to be in the range of US $1,962-2,001 million in the September quarter.

For the June quarter, IT services revenue was at US $1,971.7 million, up 2.1 percent from the year-ago period.

“We delivered revenues above the upper-end of the guidance range. Our focus on digital, combined with our investments in client mining, has resulted in strong growth in top accounts,” Wipro CEO Abidali Z Neemuchwala said.

Wipro CFO Jatin Dalal said the impact on operating margins on account of rupee appreciation and salary increases was partially offset by strong business efficiencies.

“We continue to sustain robust cash generation,” he added.

During the June quarter, Wipro added 1,309 (gross) employees, taking its total headcount to 1,66,790 people.

On the buyback offer, Dalal said the announcement to buyback equity shares is part of Wipro’s philosophy to “deliver efficient returns to shareholders”.

Wipro, during the quarter ended 30 June, 2017, allotted bonus equity shares – one bonus share for every one share held – to its shareholders.

The company’s revenue from IT products during the quarter was Rs 630 crore (US $98 million), an increase of 7 percent year-on-year.