01-01-1970 12:00 AM | Source: Reuters
Wipro shares fall nearly 7% as organic growth, revival plan disappoint
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By Sethuraman N R

BENGALURU  - Shares of Wipro Ltd fell 6.8% on Wednesday, a day after the software services firm posted quarterly organic revenue growth that was lower than peers and disappointed some investors with its plans to revive growth.

Chief Executive Officer Thierry Delaporte, who took the helm in July, said on Tuesday Wipro would focus more on large deals and "prioritize the markets and sectors that are relevant," without giving more details.

The commentary let down some investors who were hoping for more concrete steps from a company that has underperformed its rivals in the recent past.

"The strategic roadmap from the CEO to revive growth was not as strong as it was expected to be," IDBI Capital research analyst Urmil Shah said.

Wipro also saw a decline in revenue from its key markets of the Americas and Europe in the second quarter as clients cut spending, but some new deals helped to keep overall revenue largely flat at 151.15 billion rupees ($2.06 billion).

"Organic growth was down 4.5% year-on-year, lower than Accenture Plc (down 3%) and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (down 3.2%)," AMP analysts said.

Quarterly profit also fell and missed analysts' estimates.

Wipro said it expects revenue at its IT services business to be in the range of $2.02 billion to $2.06 billion in the December quarter, lower than the $2.09 billion it earned a year earlier.

The company approved a 95 billion rupees share buyback at 400 rupees per share.

"While the quantum of buyback was largely in line with our expectations, the buyback price was a disappointment," ICICI Securities said in a note.

Wipro shares were set for their biggest one-day percentage loss since April in a weak broader market, while rival Infosys Ltd was down 0.2% ahead of quarterly results later in the day.

 

 

 

($1 = 73.3970 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)