Wipro joins tech party, net up 46

Continuing forward the strong performance by Indian IT companies like TCS and Infosys, another Indian IT giant Wipro...

Continuing forward the strong performance by Indian IT companies like TCS and Infosys, another Indian IT giant Wipro has registered a 46.4 per cent growth in its net profit for the second quarter ended September 2006 at Rs 700.2 crore as against Rs 478 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Riding on the back of rising outsourcing demand, the company8217;s total revenues also increased by 41 per cent to Rs 3,546 crore as against Rs 2,506.8 crore posted in Q2-FY8217;06. 8220;Our IT Services 038; Products business witnessed strong volume growth and operational improvements during our quarter ended September 30, 2006. Our differentiated services 8212; Technology Infrastructure Services, Testing Services and Enterprise Application Services 8212; have grown double digits sequentially,8221; Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said.

However, shares in Wipro, which rose 11.5 per cent in the past seven sessions as software firms reported strong earnings, ended Rs 17.45 down at Rs 557.25 in a flat Mumbai market. 8220;The fall in share prices of Wipro is not really a comment on its performance. The share has risen a lot in the last seven trading sessions,8221; said a BSE dealer.

The company is also expecting its revenues from its Global IT Services 038; Products business for the December 2006 quarter to be around 633 million. For this quarter the revenue for the sector was US 589 mn ahead of its guidance of US 577 mn.

8220;On our margin front, operational improvements and superior BPO Services profitability helped us in significantly offsetting the pressure on profitability arising out of wage increases and noncash charge of Restricted Stock Units issued during the quarter,8221; Wipro CFO Suresh Senapaty said.

Grasim Q2 profit jumps 80

MUMBAI: Grasim Industries Ltd, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla group, today said that the net profit of the company increased by 80.03 per cent to touch Rs 337.84 crore in the quarter ended September 2006 compared to Rs 187.65 crore in the same period last year.

Total income of the company for the July-September quarter touched Rs 2,061.04 crore up 22.67 per cent from Rs 1,680.04 crore in the corresponding period last year, the company said.

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The group8217;s consolidated net profit in Q2 this fiscal, more than doubled to touch Rs 418.33 crore from Rs 200.42 crore in the same period last year.

Bajaj Auto disappoints with 10 profit growth

MUMBAI: Leading motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd disappointed the market with a 10 per cent increase in net profit after prior period adjustments at Rs 317.59 crore for the quarter ended September as compared to Rs 289.36 crore for the same period last year. The poor show by the company pulled down its share price by nearly 7per cent on the bourses.

Total income net of excise rose to Rs 2578.40 crore for the second quarter in 2006-07, up 29 per cent from Rs 2003.15 crore in the year-ago period, the company said. Bajaj Auto shares closed Rs 222.95 lower at Rs 2,898.85 on Wednesday.

Vijaya Bank PAT up 36

MUMBAI: Vijaya Bank has posted a net profit of Rs 102.33 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2006, an increase of 36.34 per cent compared to Rs 75.05 crore during the corresponding quarter last year.

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Total income for the period has increased to Rs 745.99 crore from Rs 665.55 crore in the year-ago quarter. The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of 10 per cent to the shareholders for the financial year 2006-07.