Wipro eyes higher Q3 revenue

Software major Wipro on Wednesday projected higher revenue from its global IT services for the third quarter (October-December) of the current fiscal (2015-16), as the demand environment remains stable despite currency volatility.

"We expect revenue from our IT services business to be in the range of $1,841-1,878 million or $1,860 million on average for quarter ending December 31," the company said in a statement here.

The higher outlook is also based on achieving the average guidance of $1,839 million the company gave for second quarter (July-September), volatility in exchange rates notwithstanding.

Unlike its rival Infosys, Wipro does not give annual revenue guidance as a policy.

Earlier, the company reported net profit of Rs.2,235 crore for the quarter (Q2) under review -- up seven percent YoY and 2.3 percent sequentially from the first quarter.

Revenue from IT services and products also grew seven percent YoY and 2.4 percent sequentially to Rs.12,510 crore for Q2, as per the Indian accounting system.

Under the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), net income was $341 million and total revenue $1.9 billion for Q2.

The IT products segment contributed Rs.540 crore ($83 million) to the total revenue.

"The impact of cross-currency on operating margins was, however, compensated by the benefit from rupee depreciation during the quarter," Wipro chief financial officer Jatin Dalal said in the statement.

The company's global IT services revenue grew 10 percent YoY and 2.1 percent sequentially to $1,839 million ($1.8 billion) under IFRS and Rs.12,040 crore during the quarter, with an operating margin of 20.7 percent.

"We grew IT services revenue in dollar terms by 3.1 percent in constant currency during the quarter and maintained margins in a narrow range," Wipro chief executive T.K. Kurien told mediapersons here.

The company added 67 clients during the quarter, taking the total to 1,100 from 1,071 quarter ago and 1,018 year ago.

"With our cognitive intelligence platform, we are engaged in 12 projects in business-critical areas for marquee customers and positioned favourably in the marketplace," Kurien asserted.

On the human resource front, the company added 6,607 techies, taking the headcount to 166,396 from 161,789 quarter ago and 154,297 year ago.

"Our investments in next-generation delivery practices generated productivity to mitigate the impact of wage hikes and utilization on operating margins," Dalal added.