Wipro Q4 net up 17%, gives muted IT sales outlook for June qtr

Wipro today reported 17 per cent rise in March quarter net profit at Rs 1,729 crore but came out with a muted revenue guidance for June quarter, bringing back the haze over the sector which showed signs of buoyancy after robust earning by TCS and HCL Technologies.
Revenues of the Bangalore-headquartered software services major for the fourth quarter ended March 31 rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs 11,026 crore.
In its outlook for quarter ending June 30, 2013, the country's third largest IT firm said it expects revenues from IT services business to be in the range of USD 1,575 million to USD 1,610 million, implying a decline of 0.6 per cent to a rise of 1.6 per cent over the previous quarter.

Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company's IT business T K Kurien defended the guidance, stating that first quarter is generally "worst" for the company as India business revenue declines during this period and peaks in the last three months of the financial year.
He also said in the first quarter of last fiscal, the company revenues had declined by 1.4 per cent.
Analysts appear disappointed with Wipro's earnings.

Dipen Shah, Head of Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities said: "Wipro results were below estimates. The fall in average realisations was higher than estimates."
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said in a press meet that the company has completed demerger of 'Diversified Business' effective March 31, 2013 to make Wipro Ltd a pure-play IT company. "We are confident that being a technology-focused company will provide a fresh momentum for growth", he noted.

IT services revenue in the fourth quarter was USD 1,581.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 3.2 per cent. The numbers were just in line with its USD 1.585-1.625 billion guidance.
Wipro declared a final dividend of Rs five per share, taking total dividend declared during the year to Rs 7.
After logging over 22 per cent profit growth in Q4, TCS expressed the confidence of beating Nasscom estimate of 12-14 per cent industry growth in 2013-14. HCL Tech had posted better-than-expected performance with 72.6 per cent jump in quarterly profit in March quarter.
However, Infosys disappointed with around 3 per cent profit growth and said FY'14 full-year revenue growth will be in 6-10 per cent range, lower than the Nasscom indsutry estimate.