Cognizant net up 22 per cent

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation today reported a 22 per cent increase in net profit at $172.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, against $141.3 million in the same period last year.

Revenue rose 42 per cent to $1.1 billion from $776.6 million. The Nasdaq-listed company revised its revenue guidance for 2010-11 financial year. It expects revenues to rise by 36 per cent to $4.46 billion. At the end of the first quarter, it had projected a 25 per cent rise in revenue at $4.1 billion. The company expects its third-quarter revenue to be at least $1.175 billion.

“During the quarter, spending levels were very strong across clients in all our business segments and geographies. Our clients are investing again in discretionary programmes to foster growth and innovation. We saw particular strength in our financial services segment, which had previously been hard hit by the global credit crisis,” said Francisco D’Souza, president and chief executive officer of Cognizant, in a release.

“We benefited from a surge in the initiation of discretionary projects over the past several months – in part due to pent-up demand created by the deferment of discretionary spending last year,” said Gordon Coburn, chief financial and operating officer.

“We remain focused on ensuring we have the infrastructure, people and processes necessary to support our strong growth while maintaining industry-leading quality and client satisfaction – and we believe we are succeeding in this goal.”