The US-based IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) reported a net loss of $18 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017 against a net profit of $416 million for the same quarter last year.

The company registered revenue of $3.83 billion, up 10.6 per cent, for the quarter between October and December 2017 against $3.46 billion for the same period last year. During the quarter the company recorded a one-time provisional income-tax expense of $617 million.

Full-year profit down

The net income was $1.50 billion, down 3 per cent, for the year ended December 2017 against $1.55 billion for December 2016. Revenues increased from $13.49 million to $14.81 billion, up 9.8 per cent in the last one year.

Cognizant said its first quarter revenue is expected to be in the range of $3.88-3.92 billion, a growth of 9.3-10.4 per cent year-on-year.

Francisco D’Souza, Chief Executive Officer, said in a press release: “Consistent and solid execution throughout 2017, along with continued investments to further accelerate the shift to digital during the year, gives us confidence that we can deliver a strong 2018.”

Karen McLoughlin, Chief Financial Officer, said in a press release: “Our full year 2017 results reflect the successful on-going execution of our long-term strategy, which is expected to drive sustainable revenue and earnings growth, while ensuring we maintain our ability to invest in the business and our financial strength and flexibility.”

“Additionally, today we announced a substantial increase in our quarterly dividend. We are also evaluating the longer term impact the new US tax legislation may have on our capital return programme,” she added.

The company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share on Cognizant Class A Common Stock for shareholders of record at the close of business on February 22, 2018. This dividend will be payable on February 28, 2018. The Company expects to repurchase $1.2 billion of shares by the end of 2018, including the $300 million Accelerated Share Repurchase commenced in December 2017.

Non-profit foundation

The company today announced the formation of non-profit foundation with an initial grant of $100 million to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and digital education and skills initiatives.

The new foundation will focus on funding education and skills programmes in multiple cities and states to help improve opportunities for the US-based workers and students.

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