<p>IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions on Thursday said its Vice Chairman and co-founder Francisco D’Souza will exit the board on March 31.</p>.<p>D'Souza had co-founded the company in 1994 and served as Cognizant's chief executive from January 2007 to March 2019 before handing charge to incumbent CEO Brian Humphries last year.</p>.<p>Cognizant also appointed former Managing Director and CEO of Britannia Industries, Vinita Bali to its board as a new independent director.</p>.<p><strong>Dip in net profits</strong></p>.<p>Meanwhile, the company reported a 39% dip in net profit that stood at $395 million for the December quarter from $648 million in the year-ago period. Revenues saw an uptick of 3.8% year-on-year to reach $4.3 billion. Digital revenue saw more than 20% growth Y-o-Y and representing approximately 38% of total revenue for the fourth quarter, the company said. The yearly revenue increased to $16.8 billion, up 4.1% (5.2% in constant currency) from 2018.</p>.<p>"Our steady progress against key initiatives is increasingly evident in our commercial and financial performance," said Brian Humphries, Chief Executive Officer. "We enter 2020 with renewed vigour and optimism."</p>.<p>In terms of sectors, Financial Services' (34.3% of revenues) revenue grew 1.2% Y-o-Y, driven primarily by insurance. "Growth in banking was stable, driven primarily by the contribution of the previously announced partnership with three Finnish financial institutions to transform and operate a shared core banking platform. This was partially offset by continued softness with a few of our largest banking and insurance clients."</p>.<p>For the upcoming year, the company sees first-quarter revenue growth in the range of 2.8-3.8% in constant currency terms. It also foresees a year-over-year revenue growth in the range of 2.0-4.0% in constant currency in 2020. </p>.<p>"Our operating performance and strong free cash flows in the fourth quarter reflect the actions taken throughout 2019 to improve our cost structure and instil greater operating discipline across the company," said Karen McLoughlin, Chief Financial Officer. "Our outlook reflects our commitment to further improve our cost structure to fund investments in growth. We are executing a balanced capital deployment strategy that is focused on reaccelerating top-line growth through strategic acquisitions and other investments while returning capital to shareholders."</p>.<p>It also announced a 10% increase to its quarterly cash dividend and increased its share repurchase authorisation by $2.0 billion. Cognizant declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share on Cognizant Class A common stock for shareholders of record at the close of business on February 18, 2020. This dividend will be payable on February 28, 2020, the company said.</p>
<p>IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions on Thursday said its Vice Chairman and co-founder Francisco D’Souza will exit the board on March 31.</p>.<p>D'Souza had co-founded the company in 1994 and served as Cognizant's chief executive from January 2007 to March 2019 before handing charge to incumbent CEO Brian Humphries last year.</p>.<p>Cognizant also appointed former Managing Director and CEO of Britannia Industries, Vinita Bali to its board as a new independent director.</p>.<p><strong>Dip in net profits</strong></p>.<p>Meanwhile, the company reported a 39% dip in net profit that stood at $395 million for the December quarter from $648 million in the year-ago period. Revenues saw an uptick of 3.8% year-on-year to reach $4.3 billion. Digital revenue saw more than 20% growth Y-o-Y and representing approximately 38% of total revenue for the fourth quarter, the company said. The yearly revenue increased to $16.8 billion, up 4.1% (5.2% in constant currency) from 2018.</p>.<p>"Our steady progress against key initiatives is increasingly evident in our commercial and financial performance," said Brian Humphries, Chief Executive Officer. "We enter 2020 with renewed vigour and optimism."</p>.<p>In terms of sectors, Financial Services' (34.3% of revenues) revenue grew 1.2% Y-o-Y, driven primarily by insurance. "Growth in banking was stable, driven primarily by the contribution of the previously announced partnership with three Finnish financial institutions to transform and operate a shared core banking platform. This was partially offset by continued softness with a few of our largest banking and insurance clients."</p>.<p>For the upcoming year, the company sees first-quarter revenue growth in the range of 2.8-3.8% in constant currency terms. It also foresees a year-over-year revenue growth in the range of 2.0-4.0% in constant currency in 2020. </p>.<p>"Our operating performance and strong free cash flows in the fourth quarter reflect the actions taken throughout 2019 to improve our cost structure and instil greater operating discipline across the company," said Karen McLoughlin, Chief Financial Officer. "Our outlook reflects our commitment to further improve our cost structure to fund investments in growth. We are executing a balanced capital deployment strategy that is focused on reaccelerating top-line growth through strategic acquisitions and other investments while returning capital to shareholders."</p>.<p>It also announced a 10% increase to its quarterly cash dividend and increased its share repurchase authorisation by $2.0 billion. Cognizant declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share on Cognizant Class A common stock for shareholders of record at the close of business on February 18, 2020. This dividend will be payable on February 28, 2020, the company said.</p>
