Cognizant Q3 Net grows 12% at $397 mn, raises revenue guidance

New York: Driven by growth in healthcare division, IT services major Cognizant Technology Wednesday reported 11.69 percent increase in its consolidated net income at USD 397.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

The company had posted a net income of USD 355.6 million in the same period a year ago.

"We experienced another quarter of strong performance, building on our solid momentum in the first half of the year with continued broad-based demand across key industries and geographies we serve," Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza said in a statement.

The consolidated revenue of the company increased by 23.47 percent to USD 3.187 billion during the reported period compared to USD 2.581 billion it posted in corresponding period of 2014.

"Our balance sheet remains very healthy. Cognizant recorded another quarter of strong cash generation, resulting in an increase of almost USD 500 million in cash and short term investments," Cognizant Chief Financial Officer Karen McLoughlin said.

During the quarter, Cognizant repaid the USD 100 million balance of revolving credit facility and repurchased over USD 156 million of shares under our existing stock repurchase programme.

"Year-to-date, we have repurchased 5.3 million shares for USD 334 million, reflecting the confidence in our business, commitment to drive shareholder value and ability to generate strong cash flows," McLoughlin said.

The company witnessed 43.3 percent growth in its healthcare division revenue on year-on-year basis at USD 939.2 million, 18.6 percent in financial services at USD 1,284 million, 13.7 percent in manufacturing , retail and logistics division at USD 606.2 million and 15.2 percent at USD 357.6 million.

The company raised annual revenue guidance to at least USD 12.41 billion, up at least 21 percent compared to 2014 and expects fourth quarter 2015 revenue to be at least USD 3.23 billion.