India's Wipro realises 8.7% forecast profit

Bangalore: India's No 3 software services exporter Wipro Ltd on Wednesday met forecasts with a 8.7 per cent rise in quarterly profit, but gave a downbeat outlook, sending its shares down.

Growth in India's once-booming software services exporting sector has slowed sharply in the last year as a recession in the United States, which accounts for more than one-half of the $52 billion (Dh191.02 billion) industry supplying IT and back-office services, and global financial sector turmoil crimps demand.

Wipro, which counts Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Cisco among its clients, said net profit rose to Rs8.98 billion (Dh672 million) in the three months to December under US accounting rules, up from Rs8.26 billion a year ago.

Analysts in a Reuters poll forecast a net profit of Rs8.99 billion for Wipro, which provides IT solutions and services such as system integration, software application development and maintenance and research services.

Revelations of overstated profits and fictitious assets at No 4 Satyam Computer Services Ltd have also cast a shadow over the sector, which is one of the country's main export earners.