Large Cap IT Major Declares Rs 12,000 Cr Share Buyback, Q4 Net Profit Falls Marginally

Large cap IT Software sector stock, Wipro Ltd on Thursday declared consolidated net profit at Rs 3074 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023, marginally declined by 0.4% compared with Rs 3,087.30 crore in the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, Wipro declared its consolidated revenue for the quarter surged 11.17% to Rs 23,190.30 crore compared with Rs 20,860 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The board of directors of Wipro Ltd also approved buyback of shares via the tender offer at Rs 445/share. The IT Software company is all set to buyback approximately 26.9 crore from company's shareholders on a proportionate basis which will not go beyond Rs 12,000 crore.

According to the BSE filing of the company, "Regulations, 2015, it is hereby informed that the Board of Directors of Wipro Limited (the "Company") at its meeting held on April 27, 2023 has approved a proposal to buyback up to 26,96,62,921 equity shares (Twenty Six Crore Ninety Six Lakh Sixty Two Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty One only), being 4.91% of the total paid-up equity shares of the Company, for an (hereinafter referred to as the "Buyback Size"), at a price of Rs. 445/- (Rupees Four Hundred and Forty Five only) per equity share (hereinafter the "Buyback Price" and such buyback, the "Buyback")."

Last trading price of the stock is Rs 374.35 per share with marginal intraday decline of 0.04%. The stock's 52-week high price is Rs 530.00 per share and 52-week low price is Rs 351.85 per share, respectively. The company's market capitalisation is Rs 2,05,445.04 crore. The stock declined 27% in last 1-year, 22% in last 2-years and gave return of 105% in last 3-years.

IT Services Segment Revenue increased to $2,823.0 million, an increase of 0.7% QoQ and 3.7% YoY. Meanwhile, Non-GAAP2 constant currency IT Services segment revenue decreased 0.6% QoQ, increased 6.5% YoY.

IT Services Operating Margin3 for the quarter was at 16.3%, which is flat QoQ.
"We continue to maintain our focus on operational improvements and productivity enhancements which led to our IT services margin exit at 16.3% in Q4 despite macro headwinds," said Jatin Dalal, CFO, Wipro.

It is worth noting that company's total bookings for the fourth quarter were up 29% year-on-year to $4.1 billion, while large deal total contract value (TCV) rose 155% to $1.1 billion.

"We closed FY23 with the strongest-ever bookings recorded in a year. Compared to just a few years ago, we are seeing a visible change in the structure of our deals and our market position. We are winning large transformation deals, benefitting from a consolidating market, and deepening relationships with existing clients," said Thierry Delaporte, CEO and MD, Wipro.