Cognizant declares bonus bonaza to employees for stellar performance

It is celebration time for Cognizant employees. The tech major has announced its top performing employees would get a 200-per cent  bonus payout for the year ended December 2010, while the average bonus payout would be 165 per cent for the year.
 
According to an employee, they received the intimation through the Cognizant intranet that they be rewarded for their performance, in line with the performance of the company.

Confirming the bonus bonanza announcement, the company's chief people officer Shankar Srinivasan said the company  had announced performance-linked bonus payout for all its associates, globally.
 
He said Cognizant's industry leading revenue growth in calendar 2010 had enabled it to pay performance bonuses well above target, and at higher levels as against the bonus payout in recent years.
 
He added the payout was a reflection of the company's philosophy of rewarding its employees for their stellar contribution to its high levels of client satisfaction, and resultant industry leading growth.
 
Cognizant, has a 1.04 lakh strong workforce across the globe on its payrolls, with 75 per cent of the strength in India.
 
In a regulatory filing some days back, the company-which beat analyst estimates -hiked the base salaries of the company's top management. All the
top five management members have received a bonus of 189 per cent for the year.
 
President and CEO Francisco D'Souza took a bonus of $816,968, while CFO Gordon Coburn will take home a bonus of $735,286, R Chandrasekaran, president and managing director, global delivery, will receive  $255,350 in bonus payout.
 
According to Srinivasan, calendar 2010 had been a special year for Cognizant. The company emerged stronger from the recession and grew our revenues by 40 per cent, adding a net of 25,000 employees and crossing the 100,000 employee mark.
 
He added that the company's industry leading growth enabled it to promote approximately 30 per cent of its global workforce during its promotion cycle, which the company believed, as a percentage of its workforce, was the highest in the industry.
 
A generous bonus payout was on the cards as the company beat analysts' expectations to post a 43 per cent rise in fourth quarter net profit backed by strong demand and positive prospects in the IT market.
 
All associates who were active on the rolls of Cognizant as on 31December, 2010, would qualify for the performance incentive.
 
An email sent out by the company to its employees said: "Cognizant's history is full of incredible milestones and we have demonstrated it time and again, that we have what it takes to emerge on top, regardless of market cycles. In continually building a strong growth platform for Cognizant, we have you, our associates, to thank for our industry-leading growth. Consistent with our philosophy of sharing the rewards of our growth with you, we are happy to announce performance incentives for the year 2010."
 
For 2010, the company  posted a profit of $733.5 million, or $2.37 per diluted share, as against $535 million for 2009. The company has raised its forecast for 2011, it is expecting revenues to be at least $5.79 billion, up at least 26 per cent over its 2010 figures. It expects first quarter 2011 revenues to touch $1.36 billion.