Wipro in downbeat 2009 forecast

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Indian outsourcing firm Wipro has said quarterly net profit was 9% higher than the year before, but gave a gloomy forecast due to the global slowdown.

Net income for the October to December quarter was 9bn rupees ($185m;£134m), said Wipro, whose clients include Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and Cisco.

But Wipro's chairman Azim Premji warned "2009 will be a tough year".

He also said Wipro had no plans to take over scandal-hit Satyam Computers or project management firm Maytas Infra.

Shares in Wipro, India's third biggest outsourcer, fell 3.6% to 219.75 rupees following its downbeat forecast.

'Not very encouraging'

Revenue from IT services, which makes up the majority of the firm's operating income, fell 0.9% in the quarter.

Mr Premji warned it would fall another 5% in the current quarter, to $1.045bn.

"Consumer confidence is down significantly and leading indicators suggest the bottom is not in sight," Mr Premji added.

Bangalore-based Wipro employs 96,965 people worldwide.

"The results were not in line with our expectations and the guidance they've given is not very encouraging," said Dipen Shah, an analyst at Mumbai's Kotak Securities.