Wipro says IT services revenue could decline 1-3% in Q1FY24, announces buyback

• After posting a revenue decline in Q4, Wipro said its IT services revenue could decline by 1- 3% in the upcoming quarter.
  
• The company’s net profit for FY23 fell 7% to ₹11,350 crore as its net margins shrunk by 300 basis points.
  
• It announced a share buyback worth ₹12,000 crore at ₹445 per share, which is a premium of nearly 19% to Thursday’s closing price.
  

Indian IT major Wipro on Thursday posted a 0.6% sequential decline in constant currency revenues for the March quarter. However, the next quarter could be worse as it guided for a 1-3% sequential decline in its IT services revenues to $2.75-$2.81 billion.

The company also announced a share buyback programme worth ₹12,000 crore or about 4.91% of the company’s total paid-up capital. The offer price for buyback has been set at ₹445, which is a premium of nearly 19% compared to Thursday’s closing price of ₹375.

Just like in Q3, Wipro reported another sequential decline in its revenue in Q4, which fell 0.6% to $2.82 billion in constant currency terms, while growing at 6.5% YoY.

In rupee terms, the company reported revenue of ₹23,190 crore in Q4, which is flat on a sequential basis, but up by 11.2% YoY. It is lower than the estimates of ICICI Direct of ₹23,494 crore.

Wipro’s net profit of ₹3,075 crore for the March quarter was marginally higher on a sequential basis and a tad lower on a YoY basis. Net margin for Q4 fell by 150 basis points YoY to 13.3%.

Its operating margin in the IT services segment was flat sequentially at 16.3% in Q4, but down by 70 basis points YoY.

“We continue to maintain our focus on operational improvements and productivity enhancements which led to our IT services margin exit at 16.3% in Q4 despite macro headwinds,” said Jatin Dalal, chief financial officer, Wipro.

The pressure on its bottomline was visible as its net margins shrunk on both yearly as well as quarterly basis. Net profit for FY23 fell 7% to ₹11,350 crore as its net margin fell by 300 basis points to 12.5%. Revenue for FY23 stood at $11.2 billion, growing at 11.5% in constant currency terms.

Wipro’s Q4 and FY23 in numbers:


Source: Company reports

Deal wins strong, says company

Despite the gloomy outlook for Q1 FY24 and a decline in net profit for FY23, Wipro CEO and MD Thierry Delaporte tried to strike a positive note, saying that the company is “winning large transformation deals”.

“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% year-over-year for the quarter,” said Delaporte.

Wipro reported large deal wins of $1.1 billion in Q4, making it the weakest amongst Tier 1 IT companies. Its closest rival HCL Technologies reported large deal wins worth $2.07 billion during the quarter.

The company’s clients in the over $100 million category numbered 29, remaining unchanged from the previous quarter. Most of the additions were in the over $1 million category, which saw 11 client additions to 750, followed by the over $10 million category, which saw an increase of 6 clients to 208.

Geography-wise, both the Americas registered a sequential revenue decline in Q4, while Europe and Asia reported an uptick.


Source: Company reports

Attrition rate sees sharp contraction

In line with the trends observed in other Indian IT companies, Wipro also reported a contraction in its attrition rates in Q4 – its fifth consecutive quarter of decline in attrition rates. Sequentially, its attrition rate is down 200 basis points to 19.2%. It joins peers, TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech which reported a moderation in attrition rates, too.

However, Wipro reported a reduction of 1,823 employees from its total headcount, which stood at 2,56,921 in Q4, as against 2,58,744 in Q3. It joins Infosys which also reported a decline in headcount by 3,611 employees.

On the other hand, TCS added 821 employees to its roster, while HCL Tech’s headcount increased by 3,674 employees in Q4.

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