Other goodies: it raised guidance for earnings per share by 2 cents, and stood by its revenue guidance for the full year 2012. “Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ:CTSH) once again delivered industry leading growth, despite a challenging macro-economic environment,” Gordon Coburn, president of Cognizant, said in an earnings statement. “This market downturn, as with those before, is serving as a catalyst for clients to embrace a broader range of our services.”
The company reported revenues of $1.795 billion for the quarter, up 5 percent sequentially, and 21 percent over the quarter last year. Analysts expected revenues of $1.79 billion.
Net earnings came in at $251.9 million, up 21 percent y-on-y, resulting in an EPS of 82 cents, and better than its own guidance of 80 cents. Analysts expected profits of $259.44 million.
Key sectors that posted growth were BFSI and healthcare and manufacturing/logistics. In territories, North America grew, while Europe lagged due to expected reasons. The company added about 4,700 employees in the quarter.
Earnings per share for the full year are expected in the range of $3.38, improved from the previous forecast of $3.36. Cognizant re-affirmed its May revenue guidance for the full year at $7.34 billion. “The majority of our growth for the remainder of 2012 will come from the ramp-up of clients that we won over the past months and years, including recent transformational engagements such as ING US, Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE:PHG), and others,” Chief Financial Officer, Karen McLoughlin, said on the conference call.
The company’s key competitors are TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Accenture, and Computer Sciences Corp.
Cognizant reported much faster revenue growth compared to its Indian rivals, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies on a sequential as well as year-on-year basis.
As mentioned above, Cognizant’s sales rose by 4.9% in the June 2012 quarter, while revenues of TCS and HCL Tech rose by over 3% each. Those of Infosys and Wipro fell by 1.1% and 1.4% respectively. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ:CTSH) already overtook Infosys on quarterly revenues. Given its current rate of growth, it may not be long before it surpasses Infosys in annual revenue.
