Despite the fact that its net profit for the last quarter crossed the Rs1,000-crore mark for the first time, information technology major Wipro Ltd has predicted its lowest ever growth outlook for the IT industry in the March quarter.

The third ranking Indian IT major attributed delayed contracts in 2009 as the main reason for this.

Nonetheless, quarterly net profits rose18 per cent - well ahead of market estimates - on the back of a weak rupee and improved operational efficiencies. Wipro's net stood at Rs 1,004 crore for the December quarter, compared to Rs 854 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenues grew 25 per cent to Rs 6,618.3 crore, compared to Rs 5,302 crore in the previous period.

However, IT services revenues, at $1,100 million, missed the forecast of $1121 million by a whisker. This was mainly due to cross currency fluctuations.

''We are living in tough times; the macro-economic challenges are significant and impacting businesses across segments,'' said Wipro chairman Azim Premji at a press conference in Bangalore. ''The biggest challenge is the inability to judge what is going to happen over next few quarters.'' Customers will decide quarter-by-quarter till they get certainty on the macro environment,'' he added.

Wipro added 31 new customers, including Origin Energy in Australia and Corporation Bank. Total contracts signed during the quarter exceeded $600 million. ''Our price realisation improved sequentially in constant currency through higher productivity, while absorbing the impact of lower working days,'' Suresh Senapaty, the company's chief financial officer, told the gathering..

Wipro says it has improved its offshore mix and also increased its share of revenues from fixed price projects, which now stands at 36 per cent. The company suffered a mark-to-market loss of Rs 1,382.3 crores and has hedges worth $1.8 billion spread over a three to five-year period.

Despite the positive notes, the market remains gloomy and Wipro shares continue to fall. Its employee base also shrank for the first time in the last quarter - from 97,552 in end-September, 2008 to 96,965 in end-December. The company said much of this was due to attrition, adding that it was not trying to poach employees from scam-hit Satyam.

The Satyam effect
In a swift response to the lessons of the Satyam Computer's cash scam and yesterday's BSE directive, Wipro has disclosed its cash reserve details.

The company has a cash reserve of Rs5,855 crore, deposited in banks and held in various other instruments. The cash and bank balance is Rs3,838 crore, of which Rs1,212 crore is in current accounts and Rs2,604 crore in deposit accounts. The balance sheet states that in the quarter ended 30 September 2008, bank deposits was Rs1,986 (Rs 818 crore in current accounts and Rs1,168 crore in deposit accounts).

The company's highest deposits are with HDFC Bank at Rs634 crore, followed by State Bank of India at Rs573 crore and ICICI Bank (Rs318 crore). Among foreign banks, its highest deposit is with HBSC Bank at Rs485 crore, followed by CitiBank at Rs382 crore and Wells Fargo Bank at Rs286 crore.

Wipro made it clear that it had no intentions of buying any stake in Satyam Computers, nor was it seeking to hire Satyam's talent.