IT services major Wipro on Tuesday posted 3.4 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,465.7 crore for the quarter ended September 30, and said its Board has approved up to Rs 9,500 crore buyback plan. The Bengaluru-based company, which had registered a net profit (attributable to equity holders of the company) at Rs 2,552.7 crore in the year-ago period, has priced the buyback programme at Rs 400 per share.
Wipro’s revenue for the September quarter was nearly flat at Rs 15,114.5 crore. In a regulatory filing, Wipro said its Board has approved a buyback proposal, subject to shareholders approval through postal ballot, for purchase of up to 23.75 crore equity shares at Rs 400 per share that aggregates up to Rs 9,500 crore. This is 4.16 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of the company as on September 30, 2020, it added.
At Rs 400 apiece, the buyback is 6.4 per cent higher than Tuesday’s closing price of Rs 375.5 on BSE. Wipro expects its revenue from IT Services business to be in the range of $2,022-2,062 million for the December quarter, translating to a sequential growth of 1.5-3.5 per cent. Its IT services segment revenue in the September quarter was at $1,992.4 million – an increase of 3.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
“We had an excellent quarter with growth in revenues, expansion of margins and robust cash generation. I am very excited about the opportunities that are ahead of us and encouraged by the acceleration in business momentum we have seen this quarter,” Wipro CEO and Managing Director Thierry Delaporte said. He added that the company’s strategy is to focus on growth in prioritised sectors and markets led by vertical solution offerings.
