10 Solution Providers With The Most Cash In 2015

A New Cash King Is Crowned

The 10 most cash-rich solution providers had $14.75 billion in their coffers at the end of 2015, up from $12.98 billion at the end of the 2015 third quarter. Companies such as Capgemini stockpiled additional cash by issuing billions in new bonds, while others such as Unisys filled their coffers by shifting to a less capital-intensive business model. For the first time in more than a year, a new solution provider can lay claim to being the most cash-rich. The list also features one new entrant, seven solution providers that moved up in the ranking and two solution providers that moved down. Here are the 10 solution providers sitting on the biggest piles of cash.

Methodology

To figure out which solution providers had the most cash, CRN pulled the cash, cash equivalents and short-term investing numbers from company earnings reports. CRN did this for the 22 publicly traded companies on the 2014 or 2015 CRN Solution Provider 500 lists.

Partner to Watch: CSRA

Total Cash: $204.5 million

Top Executive: Larry Prior, President, CEO

CSRA reported $204.5 million of cash holdings in its first quarter as an independent company. The Falls Church, Va.-based company – which was formed Nov. 30 by merging SRA and CSC’s public sector business – received $9 million from its operating activities in the quarter due to decreased net income stemming from the cost associated with the spin-off and merger transactions. CSRA spent $1.54 billion on investing activities due to the purchase of SRA and an increase in purchases of property and equipment. CSRA also yielded $1.1 billion from extinguishing SRA’s long-term debt maturities, $342 million in payments for acquisitions and $30 million in reimbursement of acquisition-related expenses.

10. EPAM Systems

Total Cash: $229.6 million

Top Executive: Arkadiy Dobkin, President, CEO

EPAM Systems’ cash holdings dropped 6 percent sequentially from $244.44 million last quarter. The Newtown, Pa.-based company, No. 40 on the 2015 CRN SP 500, said the reason for its sequential slip was due mostly to the timing of customers, who are switching to longer 60- to 90-day payment schedules and pushing some of end-of-2015 payments into early 2016. EPAM is continuing to grow out its advanced digital strategy, focusing on expanding its capabilities in the cloud with a focus on the company's engineering base, a journey that started in 2013, Dobkin said.

9. Tata Consultancy Services

Total Cash: $355 million

Top Executive: Natarajan Chandrasekeran, CEO, Managing Director

Tata’s cash-related holdings rose by 1 percent in the most recent quarter from $351.5 million in June. Some $311 million of the cash holdings for the Mumbai, India-based company – No. 4 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 – is being held in hand or at a bank, while the remaining $44.2 million is in the form of short-term investments. Just $22.1 million of Tata’s money is being held within India, while the remaining $333.1 million is held abroad. Rajesh Gopinathan, Tata’s chief financial officer, said operating with rigor and discipline allowed the company to generate excellent cash flows despite significant currency headwinds.

8. Unisys

Total Cash: $365.2 million

Top Executive: Peter Altabef, President, CEO

Unisys improved its cash holdings by 24.6 percent sequentially from $293.1 million in September. The Blue Bell, Pa.-based company – No. 19 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 – is forecasting a higher adjusted free cash flow of $160 million to $200 million in 2016 due to a ’more capital-light model’ and a smaller workforce, according to Altabef. Altabef said Unisys made ’significant progress in 2015’ as the company worked its way through a companywide restructuring, which included the creation of vertical practices and the layoff of 8 percent of the company’s workforce.

7. CGI

Total Cash: $402 million

Top Executive: Michael E. Roach, President, CEO

CGI grew its cash holdings by a whopping 74.6 percent from just $230.2 million last quarter. The Montreal, Quebec-based company – No. 15 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 – increased the amount of cash used in investing activities by $15.4 million due to the sale of capital assets in early 2015. Cash used for non-cash working capital items also climbed by $23.6 million, stemming in part from the payment of performance-based compensation to employees.

6. SS&C Technologies

Total Cash: $434.2 million

Top Executive: William C. Stone, Chairman, CEO

SS&C Technologies’ cash holdings fell 16 percent during the fourth quarter from $503.8 million in September. The Windsor, Conn.-based company -- No. 38 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 -- spent $2.7 billion on acquisitions last year, paying $67 million in financing charges and other expenses to purchase Advent and Primantics. Stone said the company is looking to finalize another acquisition -- of Citi Alternative Investor Services -- in its first quarter of 2016. According to Stone, SS&C will look to utilize its new leverage to drive down its debt and increase profitability.

5. Syntel

Total Cash: $1.04 billion

Top Executive: Nitin Rakesh, President, CEO

Syntel’s cash-related holdings – $540 million of short-term investments and $500.5 million in cash and cash equivalents – increased 6.1 percent in the quarter from $980.5 million in September. Nearly 90 percent of that cash is held by Indian subsidiaries of Troy, Mich.-based Syntel, No. 36 on the 2015 CRN SP 500, with $595.8 million in U.S. dollars and $334 million in Indian rupees. The short-term investments consist of $413.6 million of term deposits with banks and $126.5 million of short-term mutual funds.

4. CSC

Total Cash: $1.83 billion

Top Executive: Mike Lawrie, President, CEO

CSC’s cash-on-hand inched forward 0.5 percent from $1.82 billion last quarter. The Falls Church, Va.-based company – No. 5 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 prior to spinning off CSRA – saw its net cash provided by operating activities increase $37 million over last year to $254 million due to the sale of certain public sector receivables and lower headcount, vendor payments, tax payments and pension contributions. Cash used in the quarter for investing activities increased $14 million to $198 million due to higher payments for business acquisitions and higher net cash outflow for capital expenditures. Some $875 million is being held in foreign subsidiaries.

3. Capgemini

Total Cash: $2.15 billion

Top Executive: Paul Hermelin, CEO

Capgemini’s cash holdings increased 28 percent over the last six months from $1.68 billion on June 30. Holdings for the Paris-based company – No. 5 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 – consist of $1.2 billion of short-term investments and $916 million of cash at bank. Net cash from financing activities soared from $238 million last year to $2.57 billion this year due to the issuance of $2.97 billion in bonds last year. Cash from operating activities also increased from $886 million last year to $1.09 billion this year due to $1.41 billion of cash flows from operations before net finance costs and income tax.

2. Accenture

Total Cash: $3 billion

Top Executive: Pierre Nanterme, Chairman, CEO

Accenture's cash holdings plummeted 31.2 percent from $4.36 billion in September because the company spent more than $1.4 billion of cash on share repurchases and the payment of its semiannual dividend. According to Nanterme, Dublin, Ireland-based Accenture -- No. 2 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 -- expects digital-related services to continue being the dominant growth area for the company and has helped Accenture achieve operating margins of 15.2 percent. Accenture said it expects to generate between $4.1 billion and $4.4 billion of revenue during its 2016 fiscal year while returning at least $4 billion to stockholders through dividends and share repurchases.

1. Cognizant

Total Cash: $4.95 billion

Top Executive: Francisco D’Souza, CEO

Cognizant’s cash holdings soared 22.2 percent from $4.05 billion in September. Teaneck, N.J.-based Cognizant – No. 8 on the 2015 CRN SP 500 – has seen tremendous growth in its health-care and banking verticals following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which was further bolstered by the company $2.7 billion acquisition of health-care solution provider Tri-Zetto in 2014. But after all that growth, the health-care industry is now seeing a large amount of consolidation, with many of Cognizant's customers deferring technology upgrades. Because of that trend, D'Souza believes the health-care industry will be seeing a bit of "softness" in the beginning of 2016 but said it should abate by the end of the year.