By Haripriya Suresh and Sai Ishwarbharath B BENGALURU, Jan 16 (Reuters) – India's fourth-largest IT services firm Wipro forecast weaker-than-expected revenue growth for the current quarter on Friday after deal bookings fell to a six-quarter low in the December period, sending its U.S.-listed shares down as much as 7.2%. The muted outlook came after larger rivals Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys reported steady deal wins and better-than-expected revenue in the seasonally weak third quarter. "Wipro's revenue growth was in line (with estimates), but deal wins were slightly below average. Mainly, its guidance is below street expectations," DAM Capital analyst Anmol Garg said. The Bengaluru-based company expects fourth quarter revenue to be flat to up 2% sequentially, including contributions from acquisitions. That compares with Kotak Institutional Equities' estimate of 1.5%–3.5% growth for the period. It reported total deal bookings of $3.34 billion for the third quarter, its lowest in six quarters, versus $4.69 billion in the previous quarter and $3.5 billion in the same period a year earlier. Consolidated sales rose 5.54% to 235.56 billion rupees ($2.59 billion), topping the analysts' average estimate of 233.91 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. Net profit fell 7% to 31.19 billion rupees, missing analysts' average estimate of 33.52 billion rupees. The quarter included a 3 billion rupee charge tied to India's new labour codes. Wipro's margins and earnings are under pressure from continued investment in AI-driven delivery models, higher compliance costs under the new labour codes, and rising wages, NelsonHall analyst Gaurav Parab said. "Wipro is prioritizing long-term capability building, even as demand remains uneven," Parab added. SECTOR OUTLOOK IMPROVES Smaller peer Tech Mahindra beat revenue estimates for the third quarter on Friday, helped by demand from clients in the communications industry. After paring back discretionary spending amid tariff-related uncertainty, clients of India's $283 billion IT sector are showing greater willingness to invest in AI-driven projects. There is "a very clear shift towards AI-led transformation", Wipro CEO Srini Pallia said in a post-earnings call.  Tech Mahindra said it expected to outperform its peers in terms of revenue growth in the next fiscal year. "We are seeing signs of stability across the U.S., coupled with stabilization of top clients spending. Europe is expected to move from stability phase into growth phase," Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit Joshi said on Friday. ($1 = 90.8310 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Haripriya Suresh Sai Ishwarbharath B; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Dhanya Skariachan and Tasim Zahid)
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