Wipro Q1 profit up 12% to ₹2,870 cr; revenue surges 6%

IT services firm Wipro Ltd today reported 12% growth in standalone net income on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in the April-June quarter at ₹2,870 crore, while the company's profit dipped 6.6% sequentially on a drop across all major metrics.

The company, via a filing in stock exchanges, says its revenue reached ₹22,830 crore in the said quarter, an increase of 6% YoY, including a 6.1% increase in the IT services revenue.

“Wipro’s first-quarter results come with a strong backbone of large deal bookings, robust client additions, and resilient margins,” says Thierry Delaporte, CEO, and managing director. 

Wipro's non-GAAP constant currency IT services segment revenue decreased 2.8% sequentially but it increased 1.1% YoY. Total bookings during the said quarter stood at $3.7 billion and large deal bookings were at $1.2 billion, up by 9% YoY.

Wipro's IT services operating margin for the quarter stood at 16%, up 112 bps YoY, while earnings per share for the quarter was at ₹5.23, an increase of 11.5% YoY. The company says its operating cash flow at 130% of the net income for the quarter was at ₹3,750 crore. 

Wipro says its voluntary attrition for the quarter continued to moderate on QoQ basis, coming in at an 8-quarter low of 14% in Q1’24. Wipro saw its headcount decline for the third quarter straight, ending Q1 FY24 with 7,163 fewer employees. As of June 30, 2023, Wipro's overall headcount stood at 2,49,758.

In its guidance for the quarter ending September 30, 2023, Wipro expects revenue from the IT services business segment to be in the range of $2,722 million to $2,805 million. "This translates to sequential guidance of -2.0% to +1.0% in constant currency terms."

Delaporte says despite a gradual reduction in clients’ discretionary spending, the company maintained new business momentum. "We earned our clients’ trust with strong delivery, innovation, and expanded services that strengthen our long-term businesses, and help capture market share." 

Jatin Dalal, chief financial officer, says Wipro's ongoing focus on operational improvement has ensured that margin remains steady even in a softening revenue environment.

Wipro also announced that it has allotted 5,10,330 equity shares under ADS Restricted Stock Unit Plan 2004 on July 12, 2023, pursuant to the exercise of ESOPs. 

The IT services major on Wednesday launched Wipro ai360, an AI-first innovation ecosystem that builds on Wipro’s investments in I, and committed a $1 billion investment over the next three years. Wipro says all of its 250,000 employees will be trained on AI fundamentals and its responsible use over the next 12 months.

The Wipro CEO says the launch of Wipro ai360 and the USD 1 billion investment "solidifies" the company's position.

The Wipro stock closed 0.7% up at ₹394.35 on the BSE today after surging to its intra-day high of ₹398.65. At the current share price, the company's m-cap stands at ₹2,16,452.48 crore.