US-based IT services firm Cognizant, which employs 70% of its workforce in India, on Thursday reported an 11.48% increase in net income to $563 million for the first quarter ended March on growth in digital revenue .
The company had reported net income of $505 million a year earlier.
Cognizant also said it plans to hire more than 50,000 undergraduates from universities in India and expects to hit $20 billion in revenue this year.
The company’s revenue increased 9.65% to $4.82 billion from $4.4 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
“For the first quarter, we reported revenue of $4.8 billion, up 10.9% year over year on a constant currency basis. Our strategic repositioning over the past few years has enabled us to work more closely with clients to help them succeed while supporting our growth trajectory.
“Our portfolio and capabilities are in high demand as digital technologies penetrate the heart of enterprise operating models and processes,” said Brian Humphries, CEO of Cognizant.
Cognizant’s digital revenue grew 20% year over year. The company met its sales guidance for the March 2022 quarter.
“Our performance in the first quarter reflects strong revenue growth across our digital portfolio and a healthy demand environment. We remain focused on investments to support growth opportunities while also focusing on pricing to offset the impact of compensation pressures caused by the ongoing labor market supply/demand imbalance. ‘ said Cognizant CFO Jan Siegmund.
The company lowered its forecast for annual revenue growth to 9-11%.
“Our revised guidance is now $19.8 billion to $20.2 billion, representing growth of 9% to 11% in constant currencies, and positioning us to report $20 billion in annual revenue for the first time exceed,” said Mr. Humphries.
Cognizant had previously given a revenue guidance for 2022 in the range of $20 billion to $20.5 billion.
Rajesh Nambiar, Managing Director of Cognizant India, said the company’s global workforce has grown to more than 3,40,000 today from 289,500 in 2020.
“India is our hub for digital talent and the heart of Cognizant. We have over 240,000 employees across the country,” Mr Nambiar said.
He further said that an overwhelming majority of Cognizant’s global leadership team is based in India.
“We have built our delivery pyramid base from over 10,000 freshmen in 2018 to 33,000 freshmen in 2021 and are on track to recruit 50,000 freshmen from top-tier colleges across India,” said Mr. Nambiar.
