Wipro Q3 numbers miss estimates, lag behind TCS, INFY: Experts

IT major Wipro today reported a 9.60 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,318.8 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010, against a net profit of Rs 1,203.2 crore in the year-ago period that failed to cheer the Dalal Street, they said.

"Wipro's third quarter results are below our expectation. Revenue growth was lower-than-expected, whereas PAT was in-line with our estimates. We expect the stock to see correction as results lack any positive surprise," brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher said in a report.

Reacting to the lower-than-expected quarterly numbers, Wipro's counter witnessed selling pressure and slipped by 4.2 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
However, the scrip had outperformed the key index in the last two months on expectation of a good show in the October-December quarter.

Besides, the country's third largest software firm Wipro has announced that T K Kurien will replace the current joint CEOs Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani as the CEO of its IT business.

Analysts feel that the management rejig may also hit the stock performance in the short-term.

"There was no surprise element in the numbers. Wipro has effected management change. We expect the stock to be range bound, post the recent run-up. We prefer Infosys and TCS in large caps," Kotak Securities Senior Vice-President (PCG Research) Dipen Shah said.

Echoing Shah's opinion, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services AVP Gaurang Shah said, "The management rejig has made the investors cautious, as it is now a big responsibility for Kurien, who will alone handle the position held by two people earlier."

Besides, Wipro's performance has been subdued in comparison to its peers Infosys and TCS, which may dampen investors' sentiments, Shah added.