Wipro CFO expects very narrow margin movement

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Wipro Ltd, India's third-largest software services exporter, expects a very narrow movement in margins in the December quarter, its chief financial officer said on Friday.

"We would expect very narrow range in the movement of operating margins, subject to foreign exchange," Suresh Senapaty told reporters.

A near 12 percent gain in the rupee against the dollar this year has raised concerns, as every unhedged 1 percent rise in the value of the rupee against the dollar shaves an estimated 30 to 50 basis points from the margins of Indian software firms, which get more than half of their revenue from the United States.

The rupee had a "marginal impact" in the September quarter because of higher hedging and increased billing rates, Senapaty said.

New clients were coming in at billing rates that were 2-5 percent higher, he said.

New York-listed Wipro, which counts telecom gear makers Cisco and Nortel among key clients, posted a 17 percent rise in quarterly profit under U.S. accounting rules to 8.12 billion rupees ($204 million), beating forecasts.