Corona crisis : Cognizant withdraws financial guidance for 2020

Hyderabad: Software giant Cognizant has decided to withdraw its financial guidance for the year. In a statement released on 9 April, the company said it is withdrawing its 2020 guidance that was provided on 5 February.

Financial or revenue guidance refers to the information that companies provide to shareholders regarding the projected future performance of the company. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, several companies have withdrawn their financial guidance reports.

The US-based tech giant specified that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the company's business. After Cognizant started work-from-home for its employees due to the health crisis, “delays in project fulfillment as delivery, particularly in India and the Philippines” has affected business, it said.

It also mentioned the reduced client demand, primarily in the travel and hospitality industries, which has also taken a toll. “Entering the second quarter, Cognizant expects the pandemic to further reduce client demand as its societal and economic impact causes broader disruptions across industries.

However, given the unprecedented nature of this crisis, uncertainty around its duration and its impact on our ability to forecast performance, the company is withdrawing its 2020 guidance that was provided on 5 February, 2020,” it said.

Cognizant has over two lakh employees in India. On 20 March, Accenture had cut its revenue guidance for the financial year 2020 to three to six per cent from its earlier six to eight per cent.