Wipro shares fall on CFO exit
BENGALURU, INDIA — Shares of Wipro, India’s fourth-largest IT services provider, fell by nearly 3% after the sudden resignation of Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal, marking the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the company.
Over the past several months, Wipro has faced other key exits, including Chief Operations Officer Sanjeev Singh and several senior vice presidents, as it undergoes a multi-year business transformation.
Analysts from Kotak Institutional Equities noted, “The loss of key leaders continuing into the fourth year of turnaround will not be viewed favorably by investors.”
While Dalal’s exit after over two decades is described as a move to “pursue other opportunities,” his role will be filled by Aparna Iyer, who was most recently the Senior Vice President and CFO of Wipro’s cloud services unit.
The tech sector in India is no stranger to leadership transitions. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) saw the departure of CEO Rajesh Gopinathan earlier this year, and Mohit Joshi from Infosys is poised to take the reins as CEO at Tech Mahindra. Additionally, Cognizant Technology Solutions recently appointed former Infosys president, S Ravi Kumar, as its CEO.
However, analysts voice concerns about Wipro’s trajectory, emphasizing the company’s “struggling turnaround effort, weak mega deal pipeline, and vulnerability to vendor consolidation.”
Over the past quarter, TCS, Infosys, and HCL Tech secured numerous significant contracts, while Wipro reported fewer major deal victories.
Furthermore, rising concerns over the United States’ interest rate environment compound the challenges faced by IT firms, with apprehensions about delayed deal closures and order cancellations.
After announcing its CFO’s departure, Wipro’s shares plunged to a near three-week low. However, year-to-date, the shares have increased by 7%, trailing behind the 15% surge in the Nifty IT index.
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