Wipro Q3 net profit falls 7 pc to Rs 3,119 cr on new Labour Code impact

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) IT services major Wipro on Friday reported a 7 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,119 crore in the third quarter of FY26, weighed down by one-off restructuring charges and labour code implementations.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company had posted a net profit (attributable to equity holders of the company) of Rs 3,353.8 crore in the year-ago period.

Wipro recorded a one-time provisional impact of Rs 302.8 crore from the implementation of the new Labour Codes.

Wipro’s larger peers -- TCS, Infosys, and HCLTech -- have also taken significant hits from the new Labour Codes in their Q3 FY26 earnings.

TCS faced a Rs 2,128 crore statutory impact, Infosys Rs 1,289 crore, and HCLTech a Rs 719 crore.

The October-December quarter also witnessed a one-time cost impact of Rs 263 crore for Wipro on account of a now-completed restructuring exercise.

Wipro's revenue from operations increased 5.5 per cent to Rs 23,555.8 crore in Q3 FY26 compared to Rs 22,318.8 crore in the year-ago period.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Wipro’s profit fell 3.9 per cent, while revenue rose 3.7 per cent.

For the quarter ending March 31, 2026, Wipro expects revenue from its IT Services business segment to be in the range of USD 2,635 million to USD 2,688 million, which translates to a sequential growth of 0-2 per cent in constant currency.

During the quarter under review, Wipro completed the USD 375 million (about Rs 3,270 crore) acquisition of HARMAN's Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS) business unit. HARMAN is a Samsung company.

Wipro CEO and MD Srini Pallia said the company is positioning itself for an “AI-first world” as artificial intelligence becomes a standing board-level mandate for global organisations.

Growth was described as broad-based, with gains in three of the company's four geographic markets. While 'Americas 2' saw a sequential decline, 'Americas 1' delivered growth fuelled by healthcare and consumer sectors. Europe also showed positive momentum, driven by the ramp-up of previously announced mega-deals, while the APMEA region saw growth led by India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

"In Q3, we delivered broad-based growth in line with our expectations. As AI becomes a strategic imperative, Wipro Intelligence is emerging as a differentiator and contributed to several wins this quarter. We saw greater adoption of our AI-enabled platforms and solutions, scaled AI-led delivery through WINGS and WEGA, and expanded our innovation network across global locations," Pallia said.

Wipro’s total contract value (TCV) saw a dip of 5.7 per cent year-on-year to USD 3.3 billion.

However, management described the current pipeline as "very strong" driven by vendor consolidation and AI-led modernisation.

Wipro added 6,529 employees during the quarter, bringing its total staff count to 242,021. Recruitment remained muted this quarter with only 400 freshers joining the company, bringing the fiscal year-to-date total to over 5,000.

The company revised its end-of-year target and now expects to finish between 7,500 and 8,000, down from the initial goal of 10,000.

However, an organic increase in headcount is expected in Q4 as campus hiring resumes.

The company's board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 6 per share (with a face value of Rs 2), setting January 27 as the record date. Payment is scheduled on or before February 14. The payout will take Wipro’s total payout for the year to USD 1.3 billion.

The Wipro scrip settled at Rs 267.25 apiece on the BSE on Friday, 2.73 per cent higher than the previous close. PTI ANK ANK BAL BAL