Cognizant Technology Solutions 4Q Profits Fall on Revenue Hit

By Adriano Marchese

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. on Wednesday reported a fall in fourth-quarter profit as revenue took a hit after the company exited a large customer engagement in Europe during the period.

The New Jersey professional-services firm said earnings per share were 59 cents, down from 72 cents in the comparable quarter a year ago. Net income was $316 million, compared with $395 million a year ago.

Adjusted earnings were 67 cents a share, missing analyst consensus expectations of 90 cents a share, taken from FactSet.

Sales fell to $4.18 billion from $4.3 billion. The company said revenue was reduced by $107 million after it made an offer to a European customer to settle and exit a customer engagement in the financial services segment. It noted that the offer included a proposed-one-time payment and forgiveness of certain receivables.

In the first quarter of 2021, the company expects revenue to be between $4.34 billion and $4.38 billion, representing a growth of 2.8% to 3.8%.

For the full year, adjusted earnings per share are forecast to be between $3.90 and $4.02 on expected revenue of between $17.6 billion and $18.1 billion.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2021 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

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