WRAPUP 1-TCS, Wipro Q2 net below f'cast, outlook cautious

By Sumeet Chatterjee & Narayanan Somasundaram

BANGALORE/MUMBAI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Indian outsourcers Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Wipro (WIPR.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) missed quarterly profit expectations and joined their rivals in giving cautious outlooks amid bleak global economic conditions.

Export-driven software services firms have been badly hit by the economic troubles in the United States, which contributes more than half their revenues, and the ripples caused elsewhere.

"The global economic environment has deteriorated significantly over the past couple of months and our outlook is cautious in the near term, given the strain on the global economy," Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said on Wednesday.

New York-listed Wipro (WIT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), India's No. 3 software services exporter, forecast its IT services revenue this quarter will rise to $1.12 billion, barely ahead of its July-September revenue of $1.11 billion.

Sector leader TCS does not provide forecasts.

TCS, part of India's Tata Group that has interests in cars, commodities and services, posted a 1.2 percent rise in September quarter net profit to 12.62 billion rupees ($256 million) from 12.47 billion a year ago, under U.S. accounting rules.

A Reuters poll of brokerages had forecast net profit of 13.74 billion rupees for Tata Consultancy, which caters to firms including General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Lloyds TSB Group (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research), French insurer AXA SA (AXAF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Qantas Airways (QAN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research).

"I still look at it with cautious optimism (and) the deal pipeline is very healthy," S. Ramadorai, chief executive of Tata Consultancy, told reporters, adding the company was pursuing about 20 large deals.