Wipro ends 2% down post September quarter results; Jefferies cuts target price to Rs 600

Shares of Wipro fell 2 per cent in trade on Friday after country's third-biggest software services exporter reported a 7.2 per cent rise in quarterly profits on Wednesday after market hours but forecast a tepid quarter ahead due to furloughs in the US and Europe.

The stock ended 1.68 per cent down and fell 1.99 per cent during the day on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The IT firm posted a net profit (after tax, minority interest and share of profit of associates) of Rs 2,235.4 crore for the quarter ended September 30 as against Rs 2,084.8 crore in the same quarter last year.

Brokerage firm Angel Broking has buy rating on the stock currently, while global investment banking firm Jefferies cut Wipro price target to Rs 600 from Rs 620, and has 'hold' rating.

Net sales of the company rose by 6.3 per cent to Rs 12,566.8 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 11,816 crore in the year-ago period.

"In Q2, our IT services revenue grew 3.1 per cent sequentially in constant currency, ahead of the mid point of our guidance. It has been a quarter of all-round growth. As we look forward, we are seeing a stable demand environment," Wipro Chief Executive Officer T K Kurien told PTI.

Revenue from IT services registered a quarter-on-quarter growth of 2.1 per cent at USD 1.83 billion, in line with its guidance of USD 1.82 billion to USD 1.85 billion.

However, for the October-December quarter, Wipro expects its revenues from IT services business to be in the range of USD 1.84 billion to USD 1.87 billion, impacted by the holiday season in Europe and the US and a slower ramp-up in deals closed.

This would translate into a sequential growth of 0.5-2.5 per cent.