Wipro Q4 results: Net profit remains flat at Rs 3,074.5 cr

IT major Wipro on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 3,074.5 crore for the March 2023 quarter, almost the same as the Rs 3,087.3 crore posted in the corresponding period last year. Its revenue from operations during January-March 2023, however, rose 11.17 per cent to Rs 23,190.3 crore, against Rs 20,860 crore a year ago. The net profit is attributable to equity holders of the company.

The company’s total expenses during Q4 FY23 stood at Rs 19,531.6 crore, higher as compared with Rs 17,457.1 crore a year ago, according to a BSE filing.

The interim dividend of Rs 1 declared by the board at its meetings held on January 13, 2023, shall be considered as the final dividend for the financial year 2022-23, the company said.

Wipro also announced a share buyback of up to Rs 12,000 crore. “The Board of Directors approved a buyback proposal, subject to the approval of shareholders through postal ballot, for purchase by the company of up to 269,662,921 equity shares of Rs 2 each (being 4.91 per cent of total paid-up equity shares) from the shareholders of the company on a proportionate basis by way of a tender offer at a price of Rs 445 ($5.411) per equity share for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 120 billion ($1.5 billion),” it said.

On the outlook, Wipro expects revenue from its IT services business segment, including India State Run Enterprise (ISRE), to be in the range of $2,753 million to $2,811 million during the June 2023 quarter. This translates to sequential guidance of -3.0 per cent to -1.0 per cent in constant currency terms.

The company’s IT services revenue increased to $2,823.0 million in Q4 FY23, an increase of 0.7 per cent QoQ and 3.7 per cent YoY.

Wipro’s earnings per share for the March 2023 quarter stood at Rs 5.61 ($0.071), an increase of 0.7 per cent QoQ and a decrease of 0.5 per cent YoY.

Wipro’s voluntary attrition during the March 2023 quarter decreased 330 bps from the previous quarter, landing at 14.1 per cent on a quarterly annualised basis and at 19.2 per cent on a trailing twelve-month basis.

As of March 31, 2023, the company’s total headcount stood at 2,56,921 employees.

Thierry Delaporte, CEO and managing director of Wipro, said, “We closed FY23 with the strongest-ever bookings recorded in a year. We delivered two consecutive quarters of total bookings of over $4.1 billion. Our large deal order booking grew by 155 per cent year-over-year for the quarter. We are also pleased to announce our share buyback, which is part of our philosophy to deliver consistent returns to shareholders.”

He added that compared to just a few years ago, we are seeing a visible change in the structure of our deals and our market position. “We are winning large transformation deals, benefitting from a consolidating market, and deepening relationships with existing clients.”

Jatin Dalal, chief financial officer of Wipro, said, “We continue to maintain our focus on operational improvements and productivity enhancements which led to our IT services margin exit at 16.3 per cent in Q4 despite macro headwinds. We generated strong operating cash flows at 121 per cent of our net income for the quarter.” News18