Wipro beats analyst pessimism

NEWS Indian software giant Wipro has posted second quarter results well above analyst expectations as net profit rose 38 per cent on the same period last year to $44m. Total revenues for the six months ended 30 September climbed 15 per cent to $337m. Wipro founder and chairman, Azim Premji, praised his firm's productivity. "We believe we have grown ahead of the software services industry growth rate for the half year and continue to believe that we will grow ahead of the industry growth for the full year," he said in a statement. The company is predicting around 5 per cent growth in its global IT business revenue for the rest of the year. The company admitted it had seen some delay in large orders since the 11 September attacks. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the software developer relies on business from Fortune 1,000 firms. Orders from India and Asia Pacific have been worse hit, with the region witnessing a 23 per cent decline in profits and 18 per cent drop in revenue for the quarter. President and CEO, Vivek Paul, also warned Wipro's telecoms business would continue to suffer with revenues from the sector expected to drop as much as 10 per cent in Q3.