Wipro Q2 net up 17 pct, meets forecast

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Wipro Ltd, India's third-largest software exporter, said on Wednesday its quarterly profit rose 17 percent, matching analyst forecasts as Western clients led by telecoms gear makers ramped up technology outsourcing.

Wipro, reporting numbers after Indian leaders Infosys and Tata Consultancy beat market expectations last week, said net profit in the fiscal second-quarter ended September was 4.8 billion rupees (US$106.4 million), compared with 4.1 billion reported in the year-ago period.

The consolidated revenue for the quarter was 25.1 billion rupees for the New York-listed, Bangalore-based company.

A Reuters poll of 10 brokerages had forecast a profit of 4.75 billion rupees on revenues of 24.55 billion.

Wipro, which develops software for chip-makers and telecommunication gear makers like Nortel and Cisco, also has interests in computer hardware and consumer goods like light-bulbs and soaps.

The company's shares have risen 3 percent in 2005, underperforming the benchmark IT index of the Mumbai stock exchange, which has risen 21 percent.