CGI Group Inc. chief executive Michael Roach in Montreal is pictured in a file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
January 29, 2014 - 6:17 AM
MONTREAL - CGI Group's profit missed analyst expectations in the first quarter, even though the global IT service firm's revenue was up, profit surged to $189.8 million, and its bookings increased significantly.
The Montreal-based company earned 60 cents per share for the period ended Dec. 31, up from seven cents a year ago when net earnings ere $22.4 million.
Excluding the costs of integrating a major U.K.-based acquisition, CGI's (TSX:GIB.A) adjusted net income was $207.9 million or 65 cents per share, up from $137.8 million or 44 cents per share a year earlier.
The company, which was in the news last year due to its role in the troubled launch of a Obamacare website for U.S. health insurance, had $2.644 billion of revenue in the quarter, up from $2.532 billion a year earlier.
CGI was expected to earn 70 cents per share in adjusted profits on $2.64 billion of revenues, according to estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
CGI chief executive Michael Roach said the company delivered a "very solid performance" in the quarter and its positioned to grow as the market gradually improves.
It booked $2.8 billion worth of orders in the quarter, 45 per cent of which was new business. That raised its bookings over the last 12 months to $10.3 billion.
CGI increased its normal course issuer bid by 10 per cent, allowing it to repurchase about 21.8 million shares over the next year. It purchased 2.5 million shares during the quarter for $100 million, and 3.2 million shares over the last 12 months.
The company's debt was decreased to $2.89 billion from $2.96 billion a year earlier.
Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is the fifth-largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world with more than $10 billion of revenues and about 68,000 employees.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014