Wipro falls sharply on muted guidance

Shares of IT major Wipro plunged more than 8 per cent in the early trade on Wednesday after it reported 7.7 per cent increase in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31.

The stock opened the day on a weaker note and it tanked 8.22 per cent to Rs 406 on the BSE.

On the NSE, the scrip dropped 8.19 per cent to Rs 405.80.

The stock was the worst performer among the blue-chips on both BSE and NSE.

Analysts said Wipro's fourth quarter numbers were not too encouraging for investors and its guidance for the first quarter of FY'13 was muted.

"The numbers were not too great and on top of it the company forecast muted revenue growth was below street expectations and this led to heavy selling in the stock," said Ashika Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra.

Wipro reported 7.7 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,480.9 crore for the fourth quarter, 2011-12.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,375.4 crore during the January-March quarter in 2010-11, Wipro said in a filing to the BSE.

It said during the ongoing quarter (Q1, 2012-13), it expects revenues from IT services business to be in the range of $1,520 million to $1,550 million, assuming that exchange rates of the dollar will be at Rs 50.07.