Wipro Q1 profit rises 11 pc; company upbeat about outsourcing

Wipro, India's third-largest software exporter, today reported an 11 per cent rise in June quarter profit on back of an increase in large contracts and said it was upbeat about demand for its outsourcing services.
Controlled by Chairman Azim Premji, Wipro said in a statement that April-June quarter net profit at Rs 1,623.3 crore was 10.7 per cent higher than Rs 1,466 crore in the same period a year ago. The year-earlier profit excludes earnings from its non-IT businesses, which were demerged into a privately held company.
"We have seen an increase in deal closures in Q1 and we are hopeful the momentum will continue in the quarters to come...We are fairly confident of the future," company Chief Executive Officer T K Kurien told reporters here.

Wipro, which does not give annual forecasts, said it expects revenue from the IT services business to increase 2 to 3.9 per cent to USD 1.62-1.65 billion in the current July- September quarter.
Larger rival Tata Consultancy Services had earlier this month reported better-than-expected profit to signal a pick-up in demand for Indian IT outsourcing providers.
Wipro's consolidated sales rose 5 per cent to Rs 9,733.2 crore in the April-June quarter.

Commenting on the performance, Premji said: "We are seeing higher confidence among other clients on the backdrop of positive macro economic developments, particularly in the US."
In US dollar terms, the company's net income from operations rose 11 per cent to USD 273 million in April-June from the same period in the previous year. Revenue rose 5 per cent to USD 1.64 billion.

"We are seeing a pick-up in large deal closures, which has reflected in strong order book in the current quarter. Our clients look to technology to pursue growth and profitability and increase organisational agility," Kurien said.
Wipro's IT services revenue increased 4.9 per cent year-on-year and 0.2 per cent sequentially to Rs 8,936 crore.
Wipro shares gained 1.74 per cent to Rs 382.80 at the close on the BSE today.