Wipro posts 20% rise in Q4 net profit at Rs 2,303.5 crore; re-appoints Azim Premji as Chairman

India’s IT major Wipro reported a 20 per cent QoQ jump in standalone net profit at Rs 2,303.5 crore for the March quarter of financial year 2016¬17. India’s third largest IT firm by revenue had reported a net profit of Rs 1,918.50 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. The board of the company also recommended a bonus shares in ratio 1:1 and reaapointed Azim Premji as company's chairman. Consolidated net profit of the company jumped 7.19 per cent on quarter¬on¬quarter basis to Rs 2,267 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. It had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,114.80 crore in the sequential quarter ended December 31, 2016. For Jan¬March period, the company reported a consolidated total income of Rs 15,033.80 crore, up 4.87 per cent, against Rs 14,336.40 crore last quarter. Consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of the IT company jumped to Rs 9.33 per share as of March 31, 2017 from Rs 8.70 as of December 31, 2016.

Amid tightening of visa norms in the US Wipro expects locals to constitute more than half of its workforce in the US by June as it continues to make "significant" investments in the American market amid tightening of visa norms. Much like its peers Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, Wipro has been ramping up hiring of locals and setting up delivery centres in the US to ensure business continuity for clients. "Our focus on localisation continues in all the key markets. In Q1, we expect to have more than 50 per cent of employees to be locals in our biggest market which is the US," Wipro CEO and Member of the Board Abidali Z Neemuchwala said.