Cogent Systems (Nasdaq:COGT) today announced preliminary financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.
First quarter 2008 revenues are expected to be $24.6 million, net income on a GAAP basis for the first quarter of 2008 is expected to be $8.2 million, or $0.09 per diluted share and non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2008 is expected to be $8.8 million, or $0.09 per diluted share.
The Company has delayed the completion of its first quarter financial statements while it voluntarily consults with the Office of the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “OCA”) regarding the appropriate treatment associated with its settlement agreement with Northrop Grumman. Once the Company has considered the views of the OCA, it will report final financial results for its first quarter. Any financial impact associated with the Northrop Grumman arrangement is expected to be incrementally positive to the Company’s preliminary first quarter numbers.
“First quarter revenues are expected to increase by at least 13% sequentially and we expect to report strong gross margin and solid bottom line results," commented Ming Hsieh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogent. “Our results benefited from increasing demand by our core customers as well as good contribution from our smaller customers across all our business areas both domestically and internationally.”
“Gross margins are expected to be above 69% in the first quarter on a GAAP basis,” commented Paul Kim, Chief Financial Officer of Cogent. “In addition, we ended the quarter with our cash and investments position at approximately $444 million, or $4.79 per share, despite spending $37 million on our share buyback during the quarter.”
For its full fiscal year 2008, Cogent is raising its revenue guidance to $125 million to incorporate the anticipated incremental revenues from the acquisition of SSD. The Company also estimates fully diluted earnings per share modestly higher than stated in their prior guidance.
The Company has postponed its conference call previously scheduled for May 12, 2008 and expects to announce a new date for the call later in May.
About Cogent Systems
Cogent is a global biometric identification solutions provider to governments, law enforcement agencies, and commercial enterprises. Cogent provides the highest quality identification systems, products and services with leading technology, accuracy and speed.
