Cognizant net income up 42 per cent in Q4

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation's (Cognizant) net income for the fourth quarter (Q4) ended December 31, 2004 increased by 42 per cent to $30.6 million over the $17.7 million that it registered in same fourth quarter in 2003.

It is listed on the Nasdaq and was recently inducted into the Nasdaq-100 index.

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004 went up by 60 per cent to $172.8 million against $108 million for the same quarter in 2003. Earnings per diluted share for the same period in 2004 was $0.21 ($0.13).

As for the year ended December 31, 2004, Cognizant's net income rose by 42.77 per cent to $100.24 million over the $ 57.36 million that it recorded in same period in 2003.

It witnessed a 59 per cent increase in revenues to $586.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2004 as against the $365.6 million that it registered in 2003.

Its diluted earnings per share stood at $0.70 in 2004 when compared to the $0.42 per diluted share earning (on a split-adjusted basis) in 2003.

According to information from a press release, Lakshmi Narayanan, president and CEO, Cognizant said," We are pleased with Cognizant's strong results in the fourth quarter and full year of 2004, which outpaced the performance of the industry overall. We attribute the growth to a number of factors, all of which reflect the success of our focus on providing customers with business-driven technology solutions through our onsite, offshore model."

He mentioned that they experienced traction within Europe, as well as strong growth overall across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and retail verticals.

The company added 1,300 associates in the fourth quarter of 2004, ending the year with 15,300 employees- an increase of 6,000 for the full year.

Cognizant anticipates financial year 2005 to rake in $845 in revenues and an approximate diluted earnings per share of $0.96. It plans on increasing its total headcount to 22,500 by end of December,2005.