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Our Bureau

Plans foray into knowledge process outsourcing

Bangalore , Oct . 18

Wipro BPO is looking to acquire technology platforms and enhance domain capabilities to boost its growth prospects.

The company is also planning to expand its offerings portfolio by foraying into knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), said Mr T.K. Kurien, CEO.

"We are looking at platform acquisitions and are exploring several possibilities," he said, without divulging more details.

A technology platform is an underlying application on which transactions can be processed to deliver the desired benefit for customer's clientele.

"Currently, services offered through our own platforms account for a small portion of the overall BPO offerings, and we would like that to grow."

Further, Mr Kurien said that KPO was a thrust area for the company, which is looking at offering KPO services in the area of banking.

Wipro BPO is also in the process of setting up an 800-seat centre in Hyderabad, which could be scaled up to 2,000 seats.

Wipro BPO, which has been facing tough times for several quarters, is back on the growth track, but there's a still long way to go, he said.

Revenues from BPO operations grew 27 per cent year-on-year to Rs 229 crore for the quarter ended September 2006.

Profit before interest and tax grew by 131 per cent to Rs 52.6 crore.

The company has been able to improve its operating margins substantially over the past five quarters. The operating margins, which were at nine per cent in the quarter ended June 2005, were at 22 per cent during the quarter ended September 2006.

"We expect to maintain the BPO margins at 20-22 per cent."

The company, which saw 18 per cent attrition during the quarter, saw headcount declining to 15,355 from 15,939 in the previous quarter.

It added four customers during the quarter, of which three are Wipro's global IT customers, Mr Kurien said. "The integration of sales force has helped the company."

More Stories on : Outsourcing | Mergers & Acquisitions | Wipro Ltd

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Wipro BPO mulls platform buys

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