Wipro joins billion-dollar club

Our Corporate Bureau
16 April 2004

Mumbai: Wipro has become the latest entrant to the billion-dollar infotech club, along with TCS and Infosys. To mark the event, Wipro Ltd today declared two bonus shares for each share held by its shareholders. The company also declared a total dividend of Rs 29 per share, including Rs 25 as a one-time cash dividend.

The company announced that it registered a net profit of Rs 1,031 crore for the year 2003-04, an increase of 26 per cent over Rs 829 crore registered in the previous year The gross revenue for 2003-04 was Rs 5,881 crore, an increase of 36 per cent over Rs 4,338 crore in the previous year

Global IT services and products division raised revenues of Rs 4,357 crore, an increase of 43 per cent over Rs 8,451 crore. This division posted a profit before tax of Rs 954 crore.

"Our combined IT products and services business achieved a significant landmark by recording a revenue of $1.2 million. Revenue from our IT services business alone was $1 billion," Wipro chairman Azim Premji said. The company added 35 new clients in the fourth quarter, including four in its IT enabled service operations (Wipro Spectramind).

The board has decided to introduce an innovative restricted stock award to its employees.The company gave a guidance for next year''s first quarter revenues at $292 million