NEW DELHI: US-listed IT firm Cognizant is all set to move up in the tally of top three after TCS and Infosys, given its better-than-expected financial performance in the last few quarters, say market analysts.
Nasdaq-listed Cognizant has been steadily closing in on the gap between itself and the larger Indian IT players and may replace Wipro at the third spot if it meets its revenue guidance of 38 per cent during 2010, they said.
“Cognizant taking Wipro’s spot as the third largest IT firm is very much likely because with the growth numbers they have been posting, they are at almost at par with Wipro’s revenue numbers,” Angel Broking IT Analyst Srishti Anand said.
Looking at Wipro, its performance has been below market expectations and if they lose their place, it shouldn’t be surprising, she added.
Cognizant had posted USD 1.21 billion in revenues in the July-September quarter compared to Wipro’s USD 1.27 billion revenues during the same quarter.
Wipro posted lower than expected 10 per cent increase in its IT services revenues at USD 1.34 billion in the October-December 2010 quarter. TCS’s revenue for the same quarter were at USD 2.14 billion, while that of Infosys stood at USD 1.58 billion.
Industry analysts are now waiting for Cognizant to announce its October-December quarter numbers (its fiscal year coincides with the calender year).
US-based Cognizant has a significant presence in India, with over 75 per cent of one-lakh global workforce present in India. Cognizant is the fourth largest IT employer in India after Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro.
Cognizant has not only narrowed the gap with Wipro, but its revenue guidance of at least 38.8 per cent growth in FY’10 is indicative of its determination to snap up a larger share of the pie, they said.
Cognizant, which competes with the Indian IT majors for outsourcing projects, has benefitted from the pent-up demand for IT services. Owing to the economic slowdown, companies had reduced their IT spends, which impacted the Indian technology players in a major way.