12,000 employees, including 3,000 freshers, hired in September quarter: Wipro

Wipro on Tuesday said that it has hired nearly 12,000 employees including 3,000 freshers during the July-September quarter. At the end of Q2, the headcount at the company was at 1,85,243, the IT major said in an exchange filing.

"It was another quarter of strong performance on margins and cash flows. We improved on several operating parameters to deliver margin expansion of 0.2 per cent to 19.2 per cent in the IT Services segment. Our free cash flows as a percentage of net income for the first half was at 160.7 per cent of net income. The announcement to buyback equity shares is part of our philosophy to deliver consistent returns to shareholders," said Wipro CFO Jatin Dalal.

Meanwhile, Wipro today posted a 3.4 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,465.7 crore for the quarter ended September 30, and said its Board has approved up to Rs 9,500 crore buyback plan.

The Bengaluru-based company, which had registered a net profit (attributable to equity holders of the company) at Rs 2,552.7 crore in the year-ago period, has priced the buyback programme at Rs 400 per share.

Wipro's revenue for the September quarter was nearly flat at Rs 15,114.5 crore.

Wipro said its Board has approved a buyback proposal, subject to shareholders approval through postal ballot, for purchase of up to 23.75 crore equity shares at Rs 400 per share that aggregates up to Rs 9,500 crore.

The company expects its revenue from IT Services business to be in the range of $2,022-2,062 million for the December quarter, translating to a sequential growth of 1.5-3.5 per cent. Its IT services segment revenue in the September quarter was at $1,992.4 million, an increase of 3.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Also read: Wipro Q2 results: Net profit dips 3.4% to Rs 2,465 crore; board announces share buyback of Rs 9,500 crore