India's Wipro Posts Quarter Profit of $207 Million

Wipro, India's third-largest software services exporter, posted a consolidated net profit was 8.24 billion rupees ($207 million) in the July-September quarter as demand for outsourcing offset the impact of a stronger rupee.

Wipro , which provides IT solutions like system integration, software application development and back-office services, did not say if the results were under U.S. or Indian accounting standards.

In the September quarter of 2006, Wipro posted a profit of 6.96 billion rupees under U.S. accounting standards.

A Reuters poll had forecast a profit of 7.74 billion rupees for the Bangalore-based Wipro, which is also listed in New York and counts telecoms gear makers Cisco, Nortel and Nokia SiemensNetworks among its clients.

India's large pool of English-speaking workers have helped attract outsourcing by overseas firms looking to cut costs, but a near 12 percent gain in the rupee against the dollar so far this year, fears of a U.S. economic slowdown and soaring wages are concerns.

Shares in Wipro fell 11.3 percent in the September quarter on concerns over earnings growth, sharply underperforming an 18 percent rise in the main Mumbai market