TEANECK, N.J., Feb. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), one of the world's leading professional services companies, today announced its fourth quarter and full year 2020 financial results.

"We accomplished a great deal in the past year whilst keeping our clients and our talented associates foremost in mind," said Brian Humphries, Chief Executive Officer. "Having strengthened our portfolio, and anticipating the exit of a large financial services engagement, we enter 2021 reinvigorated by our growing commercial momentum, investments in our future, and our vision to become the preeminent technology services partner to clients globally."

Fourth Quarter 2020 Performance by Business Segment

Financial Services (31.2% of revenues) revenue decreased 11.1% year-over-year, or 11.4% in constant currency, driven by declines in both banking and insurance. Growth in regional banks and retail banking was offset by the anticipated exit from a customer engagement, which negatively impacted our revenues in this segment by 730 basis points.

Cognizant made an offer in the fourth quarter to settle and exit a large customer engagement in the financial services segment in Continental Europe. The offer includes, among other terms, a proposed one-time payment and forgiveness of certain receivables. As a result of this offer, in the fourth quarter of 2020, we recorded a reduction of revenue of $107 million and additional expenses of $33 million, primarily related to the impairment of long-lived assets.

Healthcare (30.3% of revenues) revenue grew 4.0% year-over-year, or 3.3% in constant currency, driven by growth in both healthcare and life sciences. Performance in healthcare improved, driven by strength in payer clients and software license sales. Within life sciences, strength in pharmaceutical clients was partially offset by weakness in medical device clients. 

Products and Resources (22.7% of revenues) revenue decreased 1.6% year-over-year, or 2.4% in constant currency. The decline was driven by retail, consumer goods, travel and hospitality clients that were particularly adversely affected by the pandemic, partially offset by double-digit constant currency growth in manufacturing, logistics, energy and utilities.

Communications, Media and Technology (15.8% of revenues) revenue increased 4.6% year-over-year, or 3.4% in constant currency, including a negative 790 basis point impact from our exit of certain content-related services, driven by double-digit constant currency growth in both technology and communications and media, which benefited from our recent acquisitions.

"We made good progress on our transformation program, delivering on our cost optimization initiatives to fund our strategic growth priorities," said Jan Siegmund, Chief Financial Officer. "Another strong cash flow quarter supports our commitment to balanced capital allocation through an accelerated pace of acquisitions, continued share repurchases and today's announced dividend increase."

First Quarter and Full Year 2021 Outlook

The Company is providing the following guidance:

• First quarter revenue expected to be $4.34-$4.38 billion, or growth of 2.8-3.8% (1.0-2.0% in CC). This assumes an estimated positive 180 basis points foreign exchange impact and a negative 85 basis points impact from the exit of certain content services
• Full year 2021 revenue expected to be $17.6-$18.1 billion, or growth of 5.5-8.5% (4.0-7.0% in CC). This assumes an estimated positive 150 basis points foreign exchange impact and a negative 30 basis points impact from the exit of certain content services
• Full year 2021 Adjusted Operating Margin² 15.2-16.2%
• Full year 2021 Adjusted Diluted EPS² expected to be in the range of $3.90-$4.02

Return of Capital to Shareholders

In December 2020, as part of its ongoing balanced capital allocation strategy, the Company increased its share repurchase authorization by $2 billion. In February 2021, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share, a 9% increase, for shareholders of record on February 18, 2021. This dividend will be payable on February 26, 2021.

Conference Call

Cognizant will host a conference call on February 3, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) to discuss the Company's fourth quarter and full year 2020 results. To listen to the conference call, please dial (877) 810-9510 (domestically) or +1 (201) 493-6778 (internationally) and provide the following conference passcode: "Cognizant Call."

The conference call will also be available live on the Investor Relations section of the Cognizant website at http://investors.cognizant.com. An earnings supplement will also be available on the Cognizant website at the time of the conference call.

For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available. To listen to the replay, please dial (877) 660-6853 (domestically) or (201) 612-7415 (internationally) and enter 13715007 from two hours after the end of the call until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. The replay will also be available at Cognizant's website www.cognizant.com for 60 days following the call.

About Cognizant

Cognizant (Nasdaq-100: CTSH) is one of the world's leading professional services companies, transforming clients' business, operating and technology models for the digital era. Our unique industry-based, consultative approach helps clients envision, build and run more innovative and efficient businesses. Headquartered in the U.S., Cognizant is ranked 194 on the Fortune 500 and is consistently listed among the most admired companies in the world. Learn how Cognizant helps clients lead with digital at www.cognizant.com or follow us @Cognizant.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied forward-looking statements relating to our expectations regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business,

opportunities in the marketplace, our cost structure, investment in and growth of our business, our realignment plans, the impact of the 2020 Fit for Growth Plan, the likelihood and potential terms of any settlement of and exit from our referenced large customer engagement in the financial services segment, our and our clients' shift to digital solutions and services and our anticipated financial performance. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions, legal, reputational and financial risks resulting from cyberattacks, the impact of and effectiveness of business continuity plans during the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the regulatory environment, including with respect to immigration and taxes, and the other factors discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated by our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cognizant undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Performance Metrics

To supplement our financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, this press release includes references to the following measures defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted Income From Operations, Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted Diluted EPS, free cash flow, net cash and constant currency revenue growth. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures should be read in conjunction with our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. The reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures should be carefully evaluated.

Our non-GAAP financial measures, Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted Income From Operations and Adjusted Diluted EPS exclude unusual items. Additionally, Adjusted Diluted EPS excludes net non-operating foreign currency exchange gains or losses and the tax impact of all the applicable adjustments. The income tax impact of each item is calculated by applying the statutory rate and local tax regulations in the jurisdiction in which the item was incurred. Free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities net of purchases of property and equipment. Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments less short-term and long-term debt. Constant currency revenue growth is defined as revenues for a given period restated at the comparative period's foreign currency exchange rates measured against the comparative period's reported revenues.

Management believes providing investors with an operating view consistent with how we manage the Company provides enhanced transparency into our operating results. For our internal management reporting and budgeting purposes, we use various GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making, to evaluate period-to-period comparisons, to determine portions of the compensation for our executive officers and for making comparisons of our operating results to those of our competitors. Therefore, it is our belief that the use of non-GAAP financial measures excluding certain costs provides a meaningful supplemental measure for investors to evaluate our financial performance. Accordingly, we believe that the presentation of our non-GAAP measures, when read in conjunction with our reported GAAP results, can provide useful supplemental information to our management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to our financial condition and results of operations.

A limitation of using non-GAAP financial measures versus financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP is that non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect all of the amounts associated with our operating results as determined in accordance with GAAP and may exclude costs that are recurring such as our net non-operating foreign currency exchange gains or losses. In addition, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently than us, thereby limiting the usefulness of these non-GAAP financial measures as a comparative tool. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from our non-GAAP financial measures to allow investors to evaluate such non-GAAP financial measures.

Bookings are defined as total contract value (or TCV) of new contracts, including new contract sales as well as renewals and expansions of existing contracts. Bookings can vary significantly quarter to quarter depending in part on the timing of the signing of a small number of large contracts. Measuring bookings involves the use of estimates and judgments and there are no third-party standards or requirements governing the calculation of bookings. The extent and timing of conversion of bookings to revenues may be impacted by, among other factors, the types of services and solutions sold, contract duration, the pace of client spending, actual volumes of services delivered as compared to the volumes anticipated at the time of sale, and contract modifications, including terminations, over the lifetime of a contract. The majority of our contracts are terminable by the client on short notice often without penalty, and some without notice. We do not update our bookings for material subsequent terminations or reductions related to bookings originally recorded in prior year periods or foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Information regarding our bookings is not comparable to, nor should it be substituted for, an analysis of our reported revenues. However, management believes that it is a key indicator of potential future revenues and provides a useful indicator of the volume of our business over time.

SOURCE Cognizant