BANGALORE: Wipro posted a higher-than-expected 31 percent rise in quarterly profit as global demand for outsourcing improved and the No. 3 Indian software firm said it was seeing strong business environment.
Bangalore-based Wipro expects revenue from its IT services business in July-September to rise 4.1-6.1 percent from the June quarter to $1.25 billion-$1.28 billion, the company said. "We are seeing strong demand environment across our industry verticals despite macro challenges," billionaire Chairman Azim Premji said in a statement.
Last week, sector leader Tata Consultancy Services beat market estimates and said it was seeing strong demand for outsourcing.
Infosys, however, posted a surprise fall in quarterly profit and said a weak European economy could curb new orders and dampen a recovery for India's outsourcing sector.
Wipro, majority-owned by billionaire Azim Premji who mostly travels economy class, added net 4,854 employees in the June quarter.
Rising outsourcing demand has seen Indian IT firms boosting hiring and raising salaries as they battle intensifying competition from global rivals such as IBM and Accenture.
However, a debt crisis in Europe, the second-biggest market for Indian software firms, as well as currency fluctuations are key worries for the country's $60 billion outsourcing sector. Research firm Forrester said in a report this month that Europe's volatile economic situation and uncertainty about corporate IT budgets would result in possible delays or cancellations of some outsourcing projects.
Wipro, which develops software applications, integrates IT systems and manages call centres, said net profit for the June quarter rose to 13.19 billion rupees ($280 million) under international accounting standards from 10.10 billion.
A Reuters poll of brokerages had forecast a net profit of 12 billion rupees for Wipro, which counts Citigroup, Cisco and Credit Suisse among its leading clients.