Wipro sees pick-up in European business in Q2

BANGALORE, INDIA: Wipro Ltd, India's No. 3 software services firm, is seeing a pick-up in growth momentum in Europe in this quarter on increased outsourcing and stability in billing rates, a senior official said on Monday.

"From my perspective, if we look at some of our wins in quarter one and the pipeline that we have and what we think that we will close, it's not too bad," said Ayan Mukerji, head of European operations for Wipro's IT services business.

"I am definitely not absolutely upbeat, but I am very optimistic," Mukerji told Reuters in a phone interview from his London office. "I think quarter two is definitely looking better than quarter one."

Wipro's financial year runs from April to March.

Indian software firms such as Wipro and Infosys Technologies are looking to expand in markets such as Europe and Asia Pacific to cut their dependence on the U.S. market, which brings in more than half the sector's about $60 billion revenue.

Europe accounted for about 26 per cent of Wipro's revenue in the quarter ended June, compared to 27 per cent a year ago. The United States brought in 60 per cent of the company's 62.5 billion ($1.3 billion) revenue in April-June.

In Europe, the outsourcers face competition from big global IT players such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Accenture, as well as European firms such as Capgemini and Anglo-Dutch computer services firm Logica.