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Technology Stocks : Cognos Inc. - COGN -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sultan who wrote (854)	8/21/1999 12:54:00 AM
From: Glenn McDougall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1109

INTERVIEW-Cognos braces for market-share race (All figures in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated) By Susan Taylor OTTAWA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - He's running an increasingly heated race for market share, but the chief executive of software firm Cognos Inc. (Toronto:CSN.TO - news) (Nasdaq:COGN - news) refuses to look over his shoulder. CEO Ron Zambonini told Reuters he is determined to cast his eyes forward, focusing on a major product push and plans to enter new markets. Cognos is best known for its business intelligence (BI) software, which is used to analyze and report on corporate data. The firm recorded sales of $301.1 million for the year ended February 28 1999, a 23-percent increase over the previous year. The Ottawa-based firm is first in its market, but analysts have started to ask if it can keep pace with upstart rivals posting more aggressive growth rates. Its largest competitor, Business Object SA (Nasdaq:BOBJ - news) of France, recorded a 46-percent jump in sales to $166.9 million in its latest 12-month period. Minneapolis-based Information Advantage Inc. (Nasdaq:IACO - news) had a 41-percent gain with annual sales of $70.7 million. Brio Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:BRYO - news), based in Palo Alto, California, reported sales of $46.5 million -- a surge of 74 percent. ``We're changing our company quite considerably,' Zambonini said. ``The important thing for us right now, over the next three quarters, is to deliver on our vision -- and that really is not about earnings so much as growth.' Cognos's stock has required investors with patience. Generally, it takes a pounding when it disappoints the street and makes only minor gains on good news. On the Toronto Stock Exchange, it sits at about C$30, hovering between a 52-week low of C$22.75 and a high of C$42.55. On Nasdaq, it is valued in the $20 range, between a low of $14.75 and a high of $28.13. It lugs a relatively low price-to-earnings ratio of 15, Zambonini said, or less then one-third that of rival Business Object. ``I'd definitely like our stock to go up and it's very important that we show shareholders the value of the company,' Zambonini said. ``We have the stuff right now to go forward with, and really build, our company.' Cognos has pulled down analysts' expectations by 2 cents to 30 cents for its upcoming second quarter, but the company stands by its projection of a 30 percent growth rate this fiscal year for its flagship business intelligence software. Zambonini is counting on an uptick in sales from a spate of recent and upcoming product releases. Software that pulls together an organization's business information on the Internet will be launched next month. Another tool to help build specialized data marts will be launched in November, and by year's end software that relaxes the rules for running queries will be released. Cognos is also planning to launch new tools that revolve around business intelligence, such as budget and planning software, in the next 12 months. ``The BI tools market that we're in has got plenty of scope for growth just in itself and we intend to do that,' Zambonini said. ``We're also looking at expanding a little bit outside that box, but still related to business intelligence.' Known for its small-scale purchases of tuck-in technology to complement existing product lines, Cognos may now also make full acquisitions to flesh out its offerings. ``We have $150 million U.S. in cash,' Zambonini said. ``I think our shareholders don't want to see it sit in the bank -- they want to see us using it to further our ends.' Competitor Brio has just completed a $270-million purchase of California software developer Sqribe Technologies Inc. ``I think there will probably be more consolidation. What are we going to do? We're interested more in technology,' Zambonini said. ``At the end of the day I think we should stick to our architecture, our idea. That doesn't mean to say we've got some kind of lock on the best products. We don't and that's why we've looked at, in the last year, over 100 companies.' ($1=$1.49 Canadian)