Wipro Q4 profit falls to ₹3,074 cr; announces share buyback

India's third-largest software services company Wipro on Thursday reported a 0.4% year-on-year drop in its fourth-quarter net profit. On a sequential basis, profit rose 0.7% to ₹3,074 crore in Q4.

The IT company's gross revenue rose 11.2% year-on-year to ₹23,190 crore for the January-March quarter. Revenue from IT services increased 3.7% to $2.8 billion in Q4 2022-23.

Wipro's board approved a proposal to buy back up to 26.9 crore shares for ₹12,000 crore at a price of ₹445 per share, accounting for 4.91% of the total paid-up equity shares of the company.

The operating margin for Wipro's IT services business stood at 16.3% in Q4, which is flat quarter-on-quarter.

The Bengaluru-based company's attrition fell 330 basis points from the previous quarter, landing at 14.1% on a quarterly basis and at 19.2% on a trailing twelve months basis.

Wipro's total bookings were up by 29% year-on-year and large deal bookings soared 155% in the fourth quarter.

"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," says Thierry Delaporte, chief executive officer and managing director, Wipro.

"Compared to just a few years ago, we are seeing a visible change in the structure of our deals and our market position. We are winning large transformation deals, benefitting from a consolidating market, and deepening relationships with existing clients," the Wipro CEO says.

The company has the growth mindset, right organisational structure, and the talent for long-term success, says Delaporte. "We have built a strong foundation to sustain through this period of increased uncertainty," he adds.

Wipro expects revenue from its IT Services business including the India State Run Enterprise (ISRE) segment to be in the range of $2,753 million to $2,811 million which translates to sequential guidance of negative 3% to negative 1% in constant currency terms.

"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," says Wipro chief financial officer Jatin Dalal.

"We generated strong operating cash flows at 121% of our net income for the quarter," Dalal adds.

Wipro says the interim dividend of ₹1 declared by the board at its meetings held on January 13, 2023, shall be considered as the final dividend for the financial year 2022-23.

Earnings per share for the quarter fell 0.5% year-on-year to ₹5.61.