Wipro net profit zooms 140% in Q3, sales 49%
Our Bangalore Bureau
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28 JANUARY
WIPRO'S third quarter (Q3) results have justified the market confidence, with the company today announcing a 140 per cent rise in net profit. Its net profit has jumped to Rs 26.60 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 1998, against Rs 11.10 crore recorded in the same quarter last year.
The company has posted a 49 per cent growth in net sales to Rs 416.10 crore in Q3 ended December 31, 1998, up from net sales of Rs 279.90 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Other income reported was Rs 7 crore in Q3 of 1998-99 against Rs 5.70 crore in Q3 of 1997-98. For the nine months ended December 31, 1998, net sales increased 37 per cent to Rs 1,206.60 crore, up from Rs 882.50 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Other income rose to Rs 15.30 crore from Rs 8.10 crore in the same period.
In the same period, profit before extraordinary/non-recurring charges was Rs 93.10 crore (Rs 34.6 crore). This figure, an increase of 170 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year, is before making a non-recurring provision of Rs 58.10 crore for Wipro Finance Ltd in September 1998 and reported in Q2 results. This provision completely represents diminution in the value of investment and other consequent liabilities.
The software business grew by 65 per cent over the first three quarters of 1998-99 to Rs 435.90 crore, with Y2K solutions not exceeding 8 per cent of the total software exports. Products and services grew to Rs 476.50 crore, an increase of 34 per cent.
Sales of consumer care and lighting grew 16 per cent in the same period to Rs 299.40 crore while fluid power showed a drop in sales of 12 per cent to Rs 37.10 crore. The additional depreciation charges (Rs 16 crore in Q3 and Rs 46 crore for 9 months ) are due to an increase in depreciation rates on computers from 33 per cent to 50 per cent, on furniture and fixtures from 9.5 per cent to 19 per cent and on office equipment from 4.75 per cent to 19 per cent.
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