Cognizant Technology Solutions reported a 3 per cent increase in net profit to $580 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023, as against $563 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue was down by 0.3 per cent to $4.81 billion ($4.82 billion).
During the first quarter,SG&Aexpenses declined to $835 million ($862 million) and depreciation and amortisation expenses reduced to $132 million ($143 million).
The US-based software company, with a large presence in India, reported trailing 12-month bookings of a record $25.6 billion and first-quarter bookings growth of 28 per cent year-over-year.
As against Q1 revenue expectations of $4.71 billion to $4.76 billion, Cognizant reported first quarter revenue of $4.81 billion.
Also read: Cognizant reports 9.6% drop in Q4 net profit
The company expects second-quarter revenue to be in the range of $4.83 billion to $4.88 billion. The full-year 2023 revenue is expected to be in the range of $19.2 billion to $19.6 billion, as against $19.4 billion reported in the full year 2022.
“Our accelerated bookings growth in the quarter, which included several large deals and a healthy mix of new and expansion work, reflects the strengths of our services, our brand, and the longstanding relationships we have with our clients. I am encouraged by the continuing reduction in our voluntary attrition,” Kumar said in the release.
S Ravi Kumar, CEO, Cognizant, told newspersons that it’s a soft market, and will be cautious about the market. “I hoping the market will turnaround. We need to sustain the trend of bookings. Our intent is to get growth back,” he said.
Bookings
Bookings in the first quarter grew 28 per cent year-over-year. On a trailing 12-month basis, bookings grew 9 per cent to $25.6 billion, which represented a book-to-bill of approximately 1.3X. “This is a healthy pipeline in a soft market,” Kumar told newspersons.
Employee metrics
The total headcount at the end of the first quarter was 3,51,500, a decrease of 3,800 from Q4 2022 and an increase of 11,100 from Q1 2022. Voluntary attrition - technology services on a trailing 12-month basis, declined to 23 per cent from 26 per cent in Q4 2022, and 30 per cent in Q1 2022.