Wipro Q4 net up 14% at Rs 1,375 cr; board proposes 200% dividend

The country’s third largest software exporter Wipro has reported a growth of 13.77 per cent in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, at Rs 1,375.4 crore.

The net profit stood at Rs 1,208.9 crore during the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

“We have made good progress in creating a leaner, simpler and more customer-centric organisation structure. We believe our business strategy along with the new structure will deliver industry leading growth,” the Wipro Chairman, Mr Azim Premji, said in a statement today.

IT services, which contributed 76 per cent to the company’s revenues in FY’11, stood at $1,400 million, a sequential increase of 4.2 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 20.1 per cent.

Wipro said it expected revenues from the IT services business to be in the range of $1,394 million to $1,422 million for the first quarter ending June 30, 2011.

The IT services segment hired 2,894 people during the fourth quarter and 14,314 people during the financial year, taking the total headcount to 1,22,385 employees as of March 31, 2011. It added 68 new customers during the quarter and 155 new customers during the fiscal.

“The business environment is positive and we are focusing on growth by directing investments on momentum verticals. We have announced wage hikes effective June 1, 2011, which would have an impact on the operating margins,” the Wipro Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Mr Suresh Senapaty, said.

During the fourth quarter, net income from sales stood at Rs 8,302.4 crore against Rs 7,016.1 crore in Q4 of FY 2009-10, up 18.33 per cent.

For the fiscal ended March, 2011, the company has registered a net profit of Rs 5,297.7 crore compared with Rs 4,593.1 crore during the previous fiscal, up 15.34 per cent. Net income from sales grew 14.51 per cent to Rs 31,098.7 crore from Rs 27,157.4.

On a standalone basis, the company has reported a net profit of Rs 1,337.6 crore during the quarter, a growth of 8.15 per cent vis-a-vis the same period last fiscal.

“Our journey of building the new Wipro is based on the foundation of customer focus, domain and technology leadership directed toward the customer needs and providing enriching career opportunities for our employees,” the Wipro Executive Director and CEO (IT Business), Mr T.K.Kurien, said.

The company’s cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 6,114.1 crore as on March 31, 2011.

IT products comprised 12 per cent of the total company’s revenue at Rs 3,691 crore during the fiscal, a decline of 3 per cent y-o-y. Revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 911 crore.

Wipro’s Consumer Care and Lighting business, which constituted 9 per cent of the total revenue, recorded Rs 2,726-crore revenue during FY’11, an increase of 21 per cent y-o-y. Revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 724 crore.

The board has proposed a final dividend of Rs 4 per share (200 per cent on an equity share of Rs 2 par value) for the year ended March 31, 2011, subject to shareholders’ approval.