India Wipro Q2 profit up 1.2 pct, lags forecast

BANGALORE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Wipro Ltd (WIPR.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's third-biggest software services exporter, reported a 1.2 percent rise in quarterly net profit, lagging expectations, and said it was cautious on the near-term outlook because of deteriorating economic conditions.

The company posted net profit of 8.22 billion rupees ($168 million) in its fiscal second quarter ended September 30, from 8.12 billion reported a year ago under U.S. accounting rules.

A Reuters poll had forecast a mean net profit of 8.54 billion rupees for Bangalore-based Wipro, which counts telecoms gear makers Cisco (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research), Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Nortel NT.N. ($1=49 rupees) (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by John Mair)