Wipro, India's No. 3 software firm, posted a 31 per cent rise in quarterly profit, beating consensus estimates, on firm global demand for outsourcing services.

Wipro, which develops software applications, integrates IT systems and manages call centres, said net profit for the June quarter rose to Rs13.19 billion ($280 million) under international accounting standards from Rs10.10 a year ago.

A Reuters poll of brokerages had forecast a net profit of 12 billion rupees for Wipro, which counts Citigroup, Cisco and Credit Suisse among its leading clients.

Rising demand has seen Indian IT firms boosting hiring and raising salaries as they battle intensifying competition from global rivals such as IBM and Accenture.

However, a debt crisis in Europe, the second-biggest market for the Indian software firms, and currency fluctuations are key worries for the $60 billion outsourcing sector.

Last week, sector leader Tata Consultancy Services  beat market estimates and said it was seeing strong demand for outsourcing.

But No. 2 Infosys posted a surprise fall in quarterly profit and said a weak European economy could curb new orders and dampen a recovery for India's outsourcing sector.-Reuters