Amid weak guidance, Wipro's new CEO Srinivas Pallia on Friday said the immediate priority is to "accelerate growth" as he spelt out five focus areas to "revitalise" the IT services company.
Addressing his first earnings conference at the helm of Wipro, just days after taking over the baton from Thierry Delaporte, Pallia cautioned that the economic environment is still uncertain and there might be more challenges in the short-term, but went on to add that "the opportunities are limitless".
The building blocks for Wipro are firmly in place, Pallia said pledging his full commitment to working on priority areas and strategy execution.
Accelerating large deal momentum and strengthening relationships with large clients and partners, are among clear priorities for the company, he informed. Wipro will also focus on accounts that have the potential to grow into larger engagements.
"We will continue to build talented skills which are AI-ready and enable to deliver industry-specific business solutions. Finally, (we will) continue to simplify our operating model and focus on executional rigour with speed," he said.
Pallia said the company will also focus on industry-specific offerings and business solutions led by consulting, and infused with AI.
"Last year posed big challenges for the whole industry, it has affected Wipro's performance too. The economic environment is still uncertain, and there might be more challenges in the short term," he cautioned.
Pallia, however, said every client he spoke to across industries is "very eager" to leverage AI to shape the future of business.
"We are on the brink of a major technological shift," he observed.
The comment assumes significance as the Bengaluru-based IT service company on Friday reported 7.8 per cent year-on-year decline in its consolidated net profit for March 2024 quarter to about Rs 2834.6 crore. Wipro has given IT Services revenue growth guidance in the (-)1.5 per cent to +0.5 per cent band for June quarter on a constant currency basis - an outlook that analysts say may signals more pain up ahead for the USD 254 billion Indian IT industry.
Earlier this month, Wipro announced the resignation of Thierry Delaporte as CEO, naming Pallia as the new Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect.
The announcement just days before the company's March quarter and full-year 2023-24 earnings (scheduled on April 19), surprised many with its suddenness.
Analysts were, however, quick to point towards Wipro's subdued report card and weak guidance in the past that lagged peers as also the high-profile departures at senior level (including CFO Jatin Dalal and chief growth officer Stephanie Trautman last year) as reasons behind the abrupt change of guard.
The Wipro top boss in a post on LinkedIn earlier this month stated that he looks forward to working with 240,000 "Wiproites" and taking the "iconic" company to the next phase of growth.
Pallia said he is energised by possibilities before the company and the industry, in a new era fuelled by rapid technological progress.
Industry watchers say Pallia has challenging tasks cut out in reviving the company's fortunes, retaining key leaders and restoring morale as he faces tough quarters, weak global cues and discerning shareholders at the IT company.
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