Cogent’s Growth Below Wall Street Estimates

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Cogent Systems late Wednesday reported a 49 percent jump in fourth-quarter earnings, helped by increased demand from its core law enforcement and government agency customers. Despite the growth, the results came in below analysts’ expectations.

After the market closed, the Pasadena developer of biometric identification systems reported net income of $11.5 million (13 cents per share), compared with $7.7 million (8 cents) a year ago. Revenue rose 83 percent to $40 million.

Excluding items, the company earned 14 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call on average expected adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share on $40.7 million in revenue.

While not providing an outlook for the current year, Cogent noted that it had a solid backlog of orders, including deferred revenues of almost $75 million. At the end of last year it was one of 12 companies selected for the U.S. Army’s Biometrics Operations and Support Services Unrestricted (BOSS-U) contract.

“We believe that the Department of Defense will be a leading driver of biometrics in the years to come and expect BOSS-U to be an important purchasing vehicle for future orders,” said Chief Executive Ming Hsieh in a statement.

Prior to the announcement, Cogent shares closed up 5 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $11.02 on the Nasdaq.

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