Quarterly Update
published on Feb 08, 2019
Report Overview:
NelsonHall’s Quarterly Update on Cognizant provides a snapshot of developments at Cognizant in the last quarter.
Who is this Report for:
NelsonHall’s Quarterly Update on Cognizant provides a snapshot of developments at the company in the last quarter. It accompanies NelsonHall’s more comprehensive Key Vendor Assessment program.
Both programs are designed for:
- Marketing, sales and business managers developing strategies to target service opportunities within the BPO/IT Services markets
- Sourcing managers monitoring the capabilities of existing suppliers of IT Outsourcing and Business Process Services and identifying vendor suitability for these services
- Consultants advising clients on vendor selection
- Vendor marketing, sales and business managers looking to benchmark themselves against their peers
- Financial analysts and investors specializing in the BPO/IT services sector.
Scope of this Report:
The report provides a quarterly update on Cognizant, looking at financial performance and key developments during the period.
It accompanies NelsonHall’s Key Vendor Assessment program which looks at Conduent’s BPO offerings, capabilities, and market and financial strengths, including:
- Identification of the company’s strategy, emphases and new developments
- Revenue breakdowns
- Analysis of the company’s offerings and key service components
- Analysis of the profile of the company’s client base including the company’s targeting strategy and examples of current contracts
- Analysis of the company’s strengths, weaknesses and outlook.
Key Findings & Highlights:
Changing of Guard; new CEO from April: external hire, as expected
On same day of Q4 results, announced appointment or Brian Humphries as CEO wef April 1. As an external hire, Humphries will bring in a fresh perspective, plus close knowledge of and strong relationships in the Hi-tech and Comms sectors (where Cognizant is seeing strong growth), with a concomitant understanding of new technologies, and experience of operating in global markets.
Francisco D’Souza will become Exec Vice Chair for 3 months to support the succession, and then revert to his Vice-Chair role
Rajeev Mehta to leave.
Q4 Performance in line with guidance
Ongoing sluggishness in banking (3 of top 5 clients still in negative growth) and healthcare (pre-merger uncertainties; ramp down of a contract where Cognizant is a sub-contractor)
Double-digit growth in some smaller sectors, in particular, technology, comms, E&U and manufacturing/logistics.
Margins dip slightly, though full year margins just about meet prior guidance.
Investor Day, broad mid-term plan unveiled
Initial CY 2019 guidance appears muted
