Wipro's H1 profit up 63 p.c.

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, OCT. 18. The dramatic events of the six months have spurred the growth of Wipro with the company having registered a 40 per cent growth with a net profit of Rs 216.5 crores for the quarter ended September 30, 2001.

Revenues were up 15 per cent to Rs. 877.6 crores. ``The change in environment over the last six months have been dramatic with a shift in focus from growth to productivity and performance,'' Mr. Azim H Premji, chairman of the company said.

For the half year-ended September 30, 2001 Wipro has clocked a net profit of Rs. 430.5 crores, an increase of 63 per cent from the corresponding period last year with revenues of Rs. 1,676 crores which reflected a growth of 21 per cent in its half-yearly results.The company has bagged 26 new customers in this quarter, of which post September 11, eight customers were added to the client portfolio. ``The tragedy has resulted in several deferred customer visits and delays in closing large orders,'' Wipro Limited vice chairman and Wipro Technologies CEO Mr. Vivek Paul said.

The company has made a gross addition of 113 new employees to its base of 9,411 employees consequent to 495 separations with a utilisation rate of 67 per cent. Mr. Premji estimated a sequential growth rate of 5 per cent for the next quarter.

Our New Delhi Correspondent reports:

Thrust on

IT-enabled services

Wipro will invest Rs. 48 crores in Spectramind eServices in order to increase its presence in IT-enabled services without diluting its focus in its core area of IT services and consulting. Chrysalis Capital, an existing investor in the company, is also investing Rs. 19.2 crores ($4 million) in Spectramind, raising the total second round of funding to Rs. 67.2 crores ($7.5 million).

Wipro has entered into a tieup with Spectramind to complement its business and jointly offer IT and IT-enabled solutions to select global customers. The other investor, Chrysalis Capital, along with HDFC, had invested Rs. 36 crores in the first round of funding in Spectramind in March last year.

``Wipro already offers product support services as a secondary or tertiary level for our computing and telecom customers. As these customers now look at using India for primary support, our ability to make a joint offer expands our market opportunity as well as anchors customers by being a single stop shop'' said Mr. Vivek Paul, vice Chairman and CEO, Wipro Technologies.

Wipro feels the investment will allow the company to participate in the I-T enabled services sector without diluting its per capita operating margin. In addition, it can open new business opportunities for Wipro. ``We have carefully evaluated the remote outsourcing space over the past six months and have zeroed in on Spectramind,'' said the Wipro Chairman, Mr. Azim Premji.

``This is for the first time in India that a software company is partnering a remote services company and we see this as a great opportunity to mutually enhance our business models and profitability,'' pointed out the Spectramind CEO, Mr. Raman Roy.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Business
Previous : Bullion rates
Next     : MTNL NYSE listing on Nov. 8