Azim Premji ‘gifts’ Wipro shares worth ₹500 cr to sons Rishad & Tariq

Azim Premji, founding chairman of IT major Wipro Ltd, has gifted shares worth over ₹500 crore to his sons, Wipro chairman Rishad Premji and Wipro Enterprises non-executive director Tariq Premji.

"I, Azim H Premji, (the “Seller”) wish to intimate you that 1,02,30,180 equity shares of Wipro Limited (“Company”) held by me, amounting to 0.20% of the share capital of the Company were transferred to Mr. Rishad Azim Premji (No of shares: 51,15,090) and Mr. Tariq Azim Premji (No of shares: 51,15,090) in the form of Gift," an exchange filing shows.

The disclosures reveal both Rishad and Tariq received 51,15,090 (5.1 million) equity shares of Wipro as a "Gift" from the veteran tycoon.

Following the transaction, Azim Premji's stake in Wipro declined to 4.12% (215.5 million shares) from 4.32% earlier, while Rishad and Tariq own stakes worth 0.13% each (6.6 million shares) in the IT conglomerate.

The promoter holding in the company stands at 72.90%, as per the latest BSE data, while public holding, including FII, DII, public and others, is 26.97%.

In the October-December quarter, Wipro's reported revenue stood at ₹22,231 crore, down 1.4% QoQ. The company reported operating profits of ₹3,256 crore, down 1.4% on a QoQ basis. However, its operating margins expanded beyond market expectations, pushing its share price higher. The company’s net profit stood at ₹2,694 crore, a growth of 1.8% QoQ.

The IT services segment’s revenue, meanwhile, stood at $2,656.1 million, a decrease of 2.1% QoQ, while the segment’s operating margin was 16%, down by 11 bps QoQ. Wipro’s “voluntary attrition” also moderated on a QoQ basis, coming in at a 10-quarter low of 12.3% in Q3’24.

In its outlook for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, Wipro expects revenue from the IT services business segment to be in the range of $2,615 million to $2,669 million, the sequential guidance of -1.5% to +0.5% in constant currency terms.

Today, the Wipro stock is trading 0.94% down at ₹473.50 on the BSE. The stock opened flat and soon fell to an intra-day low of ₹472.15. At the current share price, Wipro's m-cap stands at ₹2.4 lakh crore. The share has fallen 0.28% in the past week, but has risen 0.48% in the past month; 17.97% in the past six months; and 17.67% in the one-year period.

Among the brokerages, YES Securities has said Wipro’s “broadly inline” financial performance, though muted revenue performance, was expected. YES has maintained its "NEUTRAL" rating on the Wipro stock. Axis Securities recommended the "SELL" rating, citing Wipro had lagged in its execution despite having better results and better deal wins.