Cognizant’s Q3 net up by 48 pc

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, on Tuesday, announced in Bangalore that it has posted a 48 per cent growth for the third quarter of current fiscal at $558.8 million compared to $377.5 million in the same period last fiscal. GAAP net income was $96.2 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, compared to $61.0 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2006. Diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis was $0.34. GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 18.1 per cent. The results include a one-time tax benefit of $2.8 million and a pre-tax foreign exchange gain of $2.6 million.

Cognizant’s European business grew over 90 per cent year-over year, and rose 24 per cent sequentially to account for 17 per cent of total revenue for the third quarter.

Symantec corp   to buy Vontu

Symantec Corp, on Tuesday, announced in Bangalore that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire  Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions provider Vontu for $350 million, which will be paid in cash and assumed options. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007, subject to receiving regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

The acquisition builds on Symantec’s strong partnership with Vontu and will provide an important component of Symantec’s Security 2.0 vision, which shifts the focus of security from simply securing systems and devices to also protecting the information itself. 

Data loss prevention solutions help organisations prevent the loss of confidential or proprietary information wherever it is stored or being used.

Louis Vuitton to launch in City

Louis Vuitton, on Tuesday, announced in Bangalore that it would open its first store in south India in 2008 at the upcoming prestigious retail project, ‘UB City-The Collection’ in Bangalore and planned to open additional stores in Mumbai and New Delhi. Louis Vuitton was also considering making a foray in Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, Tikka Shatrujit Singh, Advisor to the CHairman, Louis Vuitton said. The price points in India for the products ranging from handbags, suitcases, accessories textile products and leather goods could be slightly higher than elsewhere due to various taxes, he said.

Pride Hotels’  expansion plans

Pride Hotels, on Tuesday, announced that it would increase the number of rooms to about 700 from 438 in the next three years, reports DHNS from Mumbai. The expansion programme will entail a capital outlay of Rs 350 crore, said Pride Hotels Chairman S P Jain. Pride owns and manages four properties — one each in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chennai, with an aggregate room stock of 438. 

“We are planning to expand the Pune, Nagpur and Ahmedabad hotels with the addition of 176 rooms. Additionally we are building a 105-room hotel off Bangalore’s upmarket Richmond Road,” Mr Jain said.

ABN AMRO’s  co-branded card

ABN AMRO Bank and MakeMyTrip.com, a travel company, on Tuesday, announced a partnership to launch a co-branded Travel Credit Card ‘GO’, reports UNI from Mumbai.

The card promises to offer a wide range of domestic and international travel services as well as offering exclusive promotions around airlines, hotels and holiday packages.

The card is powered with ‘GO Miles’, an exclusive rewards programme, which gives the user an option of redeeming their reward points against any airline ticket to any destination or stay at any hotel. Also, the accelerated rewards advantage helps users to earn higher rewards on transactions made on MakeMyTrip.com.
24x7 Learning gets $4 million 

eLearning implementation company 24x7 Learning, on Tuesday, announced a $4 m investment from Capital18, the venture capital and private equity arm of Network18.

The investment will be funnelled into technology innovation, foray into new markets, expansion in solution offerings, talent acquisition and capacity expansion to further consolidate its position in the rapidly growing market, said the company.  They will leverage upon each other’s strengths and expertise.