Cognizant Q1 profit up 11 p.c.

CHENNAI, INDIA:Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a provider in information technology services, today reported a net profit of $113.1 million for the first quarter of 2009, up 11 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

It recorded a quarterly revenue of $745.9 million, up 16 per cent from Q1 2008, which beats the revenue guidance of at least $735 million, said a press release.

The earnings per share on a GAAP basis was $0.38, compared to $0.34 in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly diluted EPS on a non-GAAP basis, which excludes stock-based compensation and stock-based Indian fringe benefit tax expenses, was $0.41, the release added.

“We are pleased with our performance during the first quarter which exceeded our revenue guidance and demonstrated Cognizant’s continued ability to outperform the industry,” said Francisco D’Souza, president and CEO of Cognizant.

He added that Cognizant’s performance this quarter once again demonstrated the value of their long-standing approach of continued reinvestment in their business.

“At Cognizant we understand the challenges our clients face. We help them navigate change to address these challenges. Our continuing strategy of reinvesting in our business to deepen our expertise, experience and ultimately, our value proposition, has meant we remain the trusted advisor to our customers in good times and bad, continuing our industry leading growth trajectory.”

D’Souza added, “Looking to the full year, we remain confident of achieving our full year guidance of at least 10 per cent revenue growth. We will continue to adhere to our business strategy and strategically manage our way through the current market turmoil to capture new opportunities so that we can emerge from this downturn in an even stronger position than when we entered it.”

Gordon Coburn, chief financial and operating officer said: “During the quarter, we continued to focus on operational excellence, thus generating cost savings which can be reinvested in differentiating ourselves in the marketplace and generating industry-leading long-term revenue growth.”

He added that they continued to strengthen their balance sheet and ended the quarter with approximately $969 million in cash, short-term and long-term investments. They repurchased over $12 million of shares during the first quarter.