Wipro shares decline nearly 3% after earnings announcement

New Delhi: Shares of Wipro on Monday declined by nearly 3 per cent after the company's quarterly earnings failed to cheer investors. The stock declined 2.84 per cent to Rs 494.50 on the BSE.

At the NSE, it went lower by 2.81 per cent to Rs 494.50.

IT company Wipro on Friday posted a 4 per cent increase in its consolidated profit to Rs 3,092.5 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022, on account of continued demand for IT services.

The company had registered a profit of Rs 2,974.1 crore a year ago.

The March 2022 quarter was the sixth straight quarter of revenue growth for Wipro at over 3 per cent. The company's annual revenue crossed the USD 10 billion mark for the first time.

For the year ended March 31, 2022, Wipro posted a 12.57 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 12,232.9 crore compared to Rs 10,866.2 crore it recorded a year ago.

"Crossing USD 10 billion in revenue is a significant landmark for us. So, we are now aiming higher. Revenue growth has been our fastest ever. In absolute terms, we have added one-fourth of our total revenue just this year," Wipro CEO and managing director Thierry Delaporte said.

Wipro's consolidated revenue from operations during the January-March quarter grew by about 28 per cent to Rs 20,860 crore from Rs 16,245.4 crore.

Talking about the quarterly outlook, the Wipro CEO said that he expects the company's revenue to grow by 1-3 per cent.

"We have guided for revenue growth of 1 to 3 per cent, which will translate to a growth of 16 to 18 per cent on a year-on-year basis in constant currency. While we don't provide annual guidance, I want to confirm that we expect to grow in double digits for the 2023 fiscal year as well," Delaporte said.

He said the margins in the medium term are expected to be in the band of 17-17.5 per cent.

"However, for the next two three quarters, we will see slightly lower margins. This is because of the investments we have made," Delaporte said.

"We see the muted topline growth guidance for 1QFY23 as disappointing, since the expectation was that Wipro's 1Q seasonality is a thing of the past and it should gain from the strong demand for consulting-led IT services," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Research.