Wipro announces ₹9,500 crore buyback plan at ₹400 per share

The board of IT services company Wipro today approved a buyback proposal worth ₹9,500 crore. Wipro plans to purchase of 23.75 crore shares at ₹400 per equity share for an aggregate amount not exceeding ₹9,500 crore, in accordance with the provisions contained in the Securities and Exchange Board of lndia regulations. This represents 4.16% of total paid-up equity share capital of the company as on September 30.

Wipro shares today closed 0.5% lower at ₹375. The buyback price is at a 6.6% premium to today's closing price.

Wipro had last year announced a share buyback of up to 33.3 crore shares at ₹325 per share, aggregating ₹10,500 crore, and comprising 3.69% of its total paid-up equity capital.

Last week, rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had announced a mega- ₹16,000 crore buyback plan at ₹3,000 per equity share. In 2017 and 2018 too, TCS had undertaken buyback offers of similar sizes. The TCS' offer price of ₹3,000 per equity share was 9.6% higher than the stock's previous day closing.

Wipro also announced that the company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eximius Design India private Limited, an engineering services company with expertise in semiconductor, software and systems design for a total consideration of about ₹100 crore. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to be concluded in the quarter ending December 31, Wipro said.

Wipro's IT services segment revenue for the September quarter came in at $1,992.4 million, an increase of 3.7% QoQ. IT services operating margin for the quarter was at 19.2%, an expansion of 0.2% QoQ and 1.1%YoY.

Wipro expects revenue from its IT services business to be in the range of $2,022 million to $2,062 million for the December quarter, a sequential growth of 1.5% to 3.5%.

Thierry Delaporte, CEO and Managing Director said, “We had an excellent quarter with growth in revenues, expansion of margins and robust cash generation. I am very excited about the opportunities that are ahead of us and encouraged by the acceleration in business momentum we have seen this quarter. Our strategy is to focus on growth in prioritized sectors and markets led by vertical solution offerings.”