CGI reports fiscal 2009 revenue growth of 3.2% while increasing EPS by 13.3% - Generates $630.2 million in cash from operations

    Stock Market Symbols
    GIB.A (TSX)
    GIB (NYSE)

    www.cgi.com/newsroom

    Fiscal 2009 Year-over-Year Highlights

      - Revenue of $ 3.8 billion, up 3.2%;
      - Bookings of $4.1 billion, or 106% of revenue;
      - Adjusted EBIT of $460.7 million up $30.3 million or 7.0%;
      - Adjusted EBIT margin of 12%, up from 11.6%;
      - Earnings from continuing operations of $315.2 million, up 5.7%;
      - Earnings margin from continuing operations of 8.2%, up from 8.0%;
      - Diluted EPS of $1.02, up 12 cents or 13.3%;
      - Cash provided by operating activities of $630.2 million or $2.03 per
        diluted share;
      - Investment of $100 million in share buyback;
      - Return on invested capital of 14.0%.
    Note: All figures are in Canadian dollars

MONTREAL, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - CGI Group Inc. (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB) generated revenue for fiscal 2009 of $3.83 billion, up 3.2% compared with $3.71 billion in fiscal 2008.

Fiscal 2009 adjusted EBIT was $460.7 million, compared with $430.5 million in fiscal 2008, representing an increase of 7.0%. This represents an adjusted EBIT margin of 12.0%.

Earnings from continuing operations in fiscal 2009 were $315.2 million compared with $298.3 million in fiscal 2008, an increase of 5.7%. The earnings margin from continuing operations was 8.2%, compared with 8.0% in fiscal 2008.

On a diluted basis, earnings per share were $1.02 in fiscal 2009 compared with 90 cents in fiscal 2008, representing an increase of 13.3%.

In fiscal 2009, CGI generated $630.2 million in cash from operations, or 16.5% of revenue. This is an increase of $274.6 million or 77.2% compared with $355.7 million in 2008.

During the fiscal year the Company acquired 9.5 million shares of CGI as part of its Normal Course Issuer Bid for $100 million, at an average price of $10.49. In addition, $130.6 million in debt payments were made, resulting in the Company having a net cash position of $66.0 million at the end of fiscal 2009, compared with net debt of $332.2 million at the end of fiscal 2008.

In fiscal 2009, new contract signings totaled $4.1 billion or 106% of revenue. The Company's backlog at year-end, when adjusted for currency fluctuations, was $10.9 billion or 2.8 times annual revenue.

    -----------------------------------------------
    In $ 000's except percentages and share data
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    All figures are from continuing operations           FY2009       FY2008
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Revenue                                           3,825,161    3,705,863
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Year-over-year growth                                   3.2%         2.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Year-over-year growth at constant currency             (1.9%)        5.3%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Adjusted EBIT                                       460,741      430,486
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Adjusted EBIT margin                                   12.0%        11.6%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Earnings                                            315,158      298,266
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Earnings margin                                         8.2%         8.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Basic EPS                                              1.03         0.94
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Diluted EPS                                            1.02         0.92
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Weighted number of outstanding shares
     (diluted)                                      310,345,241  322,804,287
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Number of outstanding shares at September 30    300,886,269  308,373,529
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Net debt to capitalization ratio                          -%        14.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Return on invested capital                             14.0%        14.0%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bookings                                          4,059,095    4,145,417
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Backlog                                          10,892,636   11,644,979
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Note: Audited 2009 Annual Financial Statements are available on
    www.cgi.com/investors and will be filed with both SEDAR and EDGAR.

"Thanks to the loyalty of our clients and the dedication of our employees, fiscal 2009 was a very successful year, especially in the context of the challenging market conditions. By remaining focused on the fundamentals, we have continued executing our profitable growth strategy while creating additional value for shareholders," commented Michael E. Roach, President and Chief Executive Officer.

"We enter fiscal 2010 in an excellent position strategically, operationally and financially. We have a strong balance sheet, including our $1.5 billion largely untapped credit facility. In addition, our sales funnel remains robust and growing, including excellent visibility on a number of significant profitable growth opportunities."

Q4 F2009 Results

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, CGI generated revenue of $926.1 million, compared with $929.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Adjusted EBIT in Q4 2009 was $126.1 million, or 13.6% of revenue compared with $105.3 million or 11.3% of revenue in the same period last year.

Earnings from continuing operations in the fourth quarter were $82.6 million, representing a margin of 8.9%. This is an improvement of $7.3 million or 9.7% compared with $75.3 million in Q4 2008. Excluding the $9.5 million tax benefit recorded in the year ago period, the improvement was 25.5%.

Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were 27 cents in the fourth quarter, compared with 24 cents in the fourth quarter of 2008, representing an increase of 12.5%. Excluding the tax benefit noted above, EPS in the year ago period would have been 21 cents resulting in an improvement of 28.6%.

Cash provided by operating activities totaled $192.5 million in the fourth quarter, or 20.8% of revenue, compared with $82.9 million, or 8.9% of revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

As part of its Normal Course Issuer Bid, the Company acquired 6.1 million shares for $65.4 million during the fourth quarter of 2009 at an average price of $10.70 per share. In addition, following the end of the quarter, the Company repurchased 4.5 million shares in October, bringing the cumulative total number of shares purchased under the current Normal Course Issuer Bid to approximately 14.0 million or 52% of the authorized limit for the current buyback program, which runs through February 2010.

In the fourth quarter, new contract signings totaled $549.0 million, composed primarily of new bookings in the financial services as well as the government & healthcare verticals. This brings the total for the fiscal year to $4.1 billion in new contract bookings.

    ----------------------------------------------------
    In $ 000's except percentages, share data and DSO
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    All figures are from continuing operations          Q4-2009      Q4-2008
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Revenue                                             926,051      929,198
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Year-over-year growth                                  (0.3%)        2.8%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Year-over-year growth at constant currency             (1.4%)        2.6%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Adjusted EBIT margin                                   13.6%        11.3%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Earnings                                             82,550       75,263
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Earnings margin                                         8.9%         8.1%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Diluted EPS                                            0.27         0.24
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Weighted average number of outstanding shares
     (diluted)                                      307,221,737  313,749,478
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DSO (Days of sales outstanding)                          39           50
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bookings                                            548,807      982,486
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bookings for the quarter reflect some anticipated signings that have been moved into fiscal 2010," added Michael E. Roach. "We remain committed to generating a book-to-bill greater than 100% of revenue on a twelve month rolling basis."

Q4 and full-year F2009 Results Conference Call

Senior management will host a conference call to discuss results at 9 a.m. EST this morning. Participants may access the call by dialing (800) 769-8320 or on the Web at www.cgi.com/investors. Supporting slides for the call will also be available. For those unable to participate on the live call, a podcast and copy of the slides will be archived for download at www.cgi.com/investors.

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is one of the largest independent information technology and business process services firms in the world. CGI and its affiliated companies have approximately 26,000 professionals. CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific as well as from centers of excellence in North America, Europe and India. As at September 30, 2009, CGI's fiscal 2009 revenue was $3.8 billion and our order backlog was $10.9 billion. CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices. Website: www.cgi.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

CGI reports its financial results in accordance with GAAP. However, management believes that certain non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors regarding the Company's financial condition and results of operations as they provide additional measures of its performance. Explanations as well as a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures with GAAP financial statements are provided in the MD&A which is posted on CGI's website, and filed with SEDAR and EDGAR.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of section 138.3 and following of the Ontario Securities Act. These statements and this information represent CGI's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, of which many are beyond the control of the Company. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These factors include but are not restricted to: the timing and size of new contracts; acquisitions and other corporate developments; the ability to attract and retain qualified members; market competition in the rapidly evolving IT industry; general economic and business conditions; foreign exchange and other risks identified in the press release, in CGI's Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), the Company's Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities authorities (filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com), as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. The words "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "foresee," "plan," and similar expressions and variations thereof, identify certain of such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. In particular, statements relating to future performance are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or on this forward-looking information. You will find more information about the risks that could cause our actual results to differ significantly from our current expectations in the Risks and Uncertainties section.

SOURCE CGI GROUP INC.

CGI Group (GIB)