Wipro beats Street in June quarter, announces Rs 11,000-cr buyback

Net Income for the quarter was Rs 2,080 crore, an increase of 1.2% YoY

Wipro, India’s third-largest IT services firm, posted a 1.2 per cent rise in first-quarter consolidated profit at Rs 2,076.7 crore helped by higher revenue from banking, financial services and insurance segment.

The IT major reported a slight increase in gross revenues at Rs 13,630 crore ($2.1 billion), an increase of 0.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while releasing the result for the April-June quarter.

While announcing the results, Wipro also announced a Rs 11,000-crore share buyback, where the IT major would buy 34.3 crore shares for Rs 320 apiece.

According to a press release by the IT major, IT services segment revenues in dollar terms were $1,971.7 million for the quarter in question, a sequential increase of 0.9 per cent (Non-GAAP constant currency increase of 0.3 per cent sequentially), and 2.1 per cent YoY (Non-GAAP constant currency increase of 3.4 per cent YoY).

Further, IT services segment profits were Rs 2,190 crore ($339 million), a decrease of 5.8 per cent YoY, while the IT services margins for the quarter was 16.8 per cent.

Net Income for the quarter, according to the release, was Rs 2,080 crore ($321 million), an increase of 1.2 per cent YoY. 

"We delivered revenues above the upper end of the guidance range. Our focus on digital, combined with our investments in client mining, have resulted in strong growth in top accounts." said Abidali Z Neemuchwala, chief executive officer and member of the board at Wipro. "The brand refresh is reflective of the transformation we are driving at Wipro and how we are helping our customers in their digital journeys."

"The impact on operating margins by rupee appreciation and salary increases was partially offset by strong business efficiencies. We continue to sustain robust cash generation," said Jatin Dalal, Wipro's chief financial officer. "The announcement to buy back equity shares is part of our philosophy to deliver efficient returns to shareholders," added Dalal.

The outlook for the quarter ending September 30, 2017, was that revenues from the IT services business would stand between $1.96 billion and $2 billion.