Wipro Posts Rs 2,121 Crore Profit In Q1, Beats Analysts' Estimates

Country's third-largest software services exporter Wipro Ltd reported a two per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Friday, beating estimates, helped by higher revenue from its Banking, Financial Services and Insurance business (BFSI). Net profit for the three months to June 30 rose to Rs 2,121 crore ($307.55 million) from Rs 2,077 crore a year earlier, the Bengaluru-headquartered said in a statement on Friday.

That topped the Rs 1,952 crore profit expected by analysts, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Revenue from IT services grew by about 5 per cent to Rs 13,700 crore while the BFSI business grew 17.5 per cent to Rs 4,110 crore. 

Wipro shares finished with a loss of 1.5 per cent on the NSE and 0.8 per cent on the BSE.

Wipro said it expected IT services revenue to grow 0.3-2.3 per cent quarter on quarter for the three months to September 30. IT services revenue is expected to rise to between $2.01 billion and $2.05 billion, it said, excluding the impact of its divestment of its hosted data centre services business.

"We have seen a pick-up in spending in the developed markets, particularly in North America and BFSI," said Chief Executive Officer Abidali Z Neemuchwala.

Meanwhile, Wipro also said it would buy US-based Alight Solutions' India operations for $117 million in cash. The IT major said it would buy Alight HR Services India Pvt Ltd, which is Alight Solutions' captive operations in India. The deal is expected to be completed in the quarter ending September.

India's $154 billion software services industry, led by Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Ltd, faces tighter margins in legacy businesses such as routine infrastructure maintenance as clients increasingly demand more work for less money.

Still, Tata Consultancy Services this month posted a record profit helped by a rebound in its financial services business.

Infosys reported a rise in net income but missed estimates.