Cogent Systems reported fourth quarter 2008 revenues were US$40 million, compared to revenue of $21.9 million in the same period last year. Net income on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $11.5 million, or $0.13 per diluted share. This compares to GAAP net income of $7.7 million, or $0.08 per diluted share in the same year ago period.
Cogent Systems reported fourth quarter 2008 revenues were US$40 million, compared to revenue of $21.9 million in the same period last year. Net income on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $11.5 million, or $0.13 per diluted share. This compares to GAAP net income of $7.7 million, or $0.08 per diluted share in the same year ago period.
Cogent's fourth quarter of 2008 GAAP results included $1.0 million of non-cash share based compensation charges. Excluding the effects of share-based compensation and the net tax effect, non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $12.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. This compares to non-GAAP net income of $8 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the same year ago period, excluding the effects of similar items in both periods.
For the full-year ended Dec 31, 2008, revenues increased to $125.7 million from $105.8 million in 2007. Net income in 2008 on a GAAP basis was $45.2 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, which compares to GAAP net income of $28.6 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the year ended Dec 31, 2007. Excluding the effects of share-based compensation and related tax effects, non-GAAP net income in 2008 was $47.2 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $30.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share in 2007.
"Fourth quarter revenue increased 83 percent year-over-year, and we entered 2009 with a solid backlog of orders, including deferred revenues of almost $75 million,” commented Ming Hsieh, CEO of Cogent. “During the year, we saw increased demand from a number of core customers, while also expanding our customer base with key wins at the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Defense. At the end of 2008, Cogent was one of 12 companies selected for the Biometrics Operations and Support Services Unrestricted (BOSS-U) contract by the U.S. Army. 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. Last week and following the completion of tenders evaluation, the UK Post Office, Post Office Limited, notified Cogent Systems of its decision to appoint Cogent as its preferred bidder for the contract to provide integrated biometric data collection services to Post Office Limited. This is one of the final main steps leading to the award and signing of the contract marking the completion of Post Office Limited's competitive tendering process. Post Office Limited provides a variety of products and services through 12,500 branches in the UK. The size of the initial award is potentially larger than any other single international win in the Company's history. We believe these recent wins will help us continue to grow and diversify our business, and we also expect several significant contracts to be awarded over the next several months by large government agencies both domestically and internationally. Dependent on timing and revenue recognition, the award of these contracts to Cogent may have an incrementally positive impact on our outlook for 2009.”
"While gross margins were impacted by product mix, we expect them to improve in the first quarter,” commented Paul Kim, CFO of Cogent. “We also generated $24 million in cash this quarter, ending the quarter with our cash and investments position at approximately $480 million, or $5.32 per share.”
Cogent will offer a live Web cast of the conference call, accessible from the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website (www.cogentsystems.com). The webcast will be archived for a period of 15 days. A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available 2 hours after the call and will run for 2 days. To hear the replay, parties in the United States and Canada should call 800-405-2236 and enter pass code 11124769. International parties should call 303-590-3000 and enter pass code 11124769.
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. Cogent's Automated Fingerprint/Palmprint Identification Systems, or AFIS, enable customers to capture fingerprint and palm print images electronically, encode prints into searchable files, and accurately compare a set of fingerprints/palm prints to a database containing potentially millions of prints in seconds. For more information, please visit www.cogentsystems.com