Wipro to raise wages by up to 15 p.c.

BANGALORE, INDIA: India's Wipro Ltd, India's third-largest software services exporter, plans to hike wages by up to 15 per cent this year, the company said on Wednesday, in a move that would hurt operating margins.

The company plans to hike wages by 12 to 15 per cent for its India-based staff and 3 to 4 percent for employees working at client locations, investor relations head Rajendra Kumar Shreemal told reporters after the company posted a nearly 14 per cent YoY rise in quarterly profit.

The company expects the IT budget of its clients to remain flat or rise in certain sectors, and is seeing a stable pricing environment for its outsourcing services, chief financial officer Suresh Senapaty said.

Wipro, which recorded a fourth quarter net profit of Rs. 1,375.4 crore, and a financial year net profit of Rs. 5,298 crore, projected $1.4 billion from its global IT services business for the first quarter (April-June) of the financial year 2011-12, indicating a flat growth sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2010-11.

Last week, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest software services firm, also said it has plans to increase wages by 12 to 14 per cent for India-based staff as it deals with high attrition in a competitive environment.