Wipro warns Chennai flood would hit December quarter earnings

Wipro, country's third-largest software services exporter, warned investors on Wednesday that heavy flooding in Chennai would hit revenues and operating margins for the quarter ending on December 31.

Wipro , which employs 22,000 people across Chennai, is the latest IT service provider to warn of the impact of the floods in a city that has become a hub for the industry along with other centres like Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Rival Tata Consultancy Services warned on Friday that the floods would have a "material impact" on its third-quarter revenues. TCS employs 65,000 people in Chennai, roughly a fifth of its total.

Floods ravaged Chennai after heavy rains began in November, killing some 280 people and displacing 400,000 people across Tamil Nadu state.

Wipro said in a statement that revenues for the quarter ending on Dec. 31 would be in the lower half of its $1.84 billion to $1.88 billion range, while it would also book a one-off cost.

Other major IT service providers operating in Chennai include HCL, Tech Mahindra and Infosys.