MUMBAI: IT major Wipro today reported a 9.60 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,318.8 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010.
The company had a net profit of Rs 1,203.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, Wipro said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
For the fourth quarter ending March 31, Wipro expects revenues from IT services business to be in the range of $1,384-1,411 million, a sequential increase of 3 to 5 per cent, the filing added.
"We announced the appointment of T K Kurien as the CEO of IT Business and Executive Director, Wipro with effect from February 1, 2011. The Joint CEO structure was one of the key factors that successfully helped us navigate the worst economic crisis of our times," Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said.
Net income from sales rose to Rs 7,829.3 crore for the December quarter as against Rs 6,977.4 crore in Q3 FY10, it said. The board of directors have proposed an interim dividend of Rs 2 per equity share on the face value of Rs 2 to its shareholders.
IT services business, which contributed 76 per cent of the total revenue during the reporting quarter, added 36 new clients, the company said.
"The operating margins for IT Services Business was flat, despite lower working days and drop in utilisation," Wipro Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer Suresh Senapaty said.
The company's IT services revenue grew by 15 per cent at Rs 7,829 crore, over the same period last year.
The company added 3,591 net employees in this quarter taking the total headcount to 1.19 lakh employees as of December 31.
It had cash and cash equivalents to the tune of Rs 6,487.8 crore as on December 31, 2010.
On standalone basis, Wipro posted a marginal dip in net profit at Rs 1,223.7 crore for the reported quarter. It had a net profit of Rs 1,231.2 crore in Q3 FY'10.