Wipro sees Rs 10 bn sales from new PCs

Thiagarajan said Wipro’s computer systems and services division was expected to post sales growth of over 30 per cent in financial 1999/2000 from a compounded annual sales growth rate of 23 per cent in the last five years.

On Tuesday, Wipro launched a range of personal computers to cater to different sectors, from business users and home users to large corporations. In June last year, Wipro launched its first personal computer under its own brand name.

"We are moving from being a business desktop player to the entire range of desktops," Thiagarajan said. In April the company ended a domestic joint venture for manufacturing and marketing computers with Acer Computer International Ltd, part of Taiwan’s Acer Group.

Acer and Wipro said they would manufacture and sell their computers independently, though Wipro would be retained as one of Acer’s marketing partners in the country.

Thiagarajan said Wipro’s own personal computer sales should be about 50,000 units a year from now on compared to 30,000 units in the 12 month period ending June, 1999. "We are looking at a market share of five to six per cent from the three per cent in 1998/99," he said.

He said Wipro’s current share of the personal computer market was higher than some global brands such as IBM Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co.