The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, April 29, 2011

Article Excerpt

CGI GROUP INC., $20.70, Toronto symbol GIB.A, is Canada’s largest provider of computer-outsourcing services. The company’s services can automate certain routine functions, such as accounting and buying supplies. That makes its clients more efficient, and lets them focus on their main businesses. In its fiscal 2011 second quarter, which ended March 31, 2011, CGI earned $117.0 million. That’s up 43.4% from $81.6 million a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 50.0%, to $0.42 from $0.28. If you exclude a tax gain, the company would have earned $0.40 a share in the latest quarter. That beat the consensus earnings estimate of $0.38 a share. Revenue rose 24.5%, to $1.1 billion from $910.4 million a year earlier. If you exclude the negative impact of exchange rates, revenue would have risen 27.9%. Canadian revenue rose 4.3%, and U.S. revenue jumped 67.3%, mainly because the company won a number of new contracts from the U.S. federal government. The U.S. gain…