Originally: Cogent Systems Awarded $2.5 Million Contract for AFIS to Support Haiti’s Electoral Process
Cogent Systems (Nasdaq:COGT) today announced it has been awarded a $2.5 million contract for its Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) solution to be used by the Provisional Electoral Council of Haiti. The contract was awarded by the Organization of American States (OAS) as part of its Special Mission to Strengthen Democracy in Haiti program.
The new order for Cogent’s AFIS solution will be utilized in Haiti to capture voters’ fingerprints, create a database and match the fingerprints to authenticate voters’ identities and prevent duplicate registration. The system is expected to support the enrollment of 4.5 million voters for elections in Haiti that are scheduled to be held in the fourth quarter of 2005. Cogent will also provide installation and maintenance services and training to system operators to support ongoing voter enrollment in Haiti.
“We are very pleased to have been selected to provide our AFIS solution for the Provisional Electoral Council of Haiti and are proud to be associated with the OAS Special Mission to Strengthen Democracy in Haiti program,” commented Ming Hsieh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogent. “In Haiti, Cogent’s technology will be used to prevent voters from enrolling under multiple identities with the final objective to promote fair elections and one voter — one vote.”
About Cogent Systems
Cogent is a leading provider of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems, or AFIS, and other fingerprint biometric solutions to governments, law enforcement agencies and other organizations worldwide. Cogent’s AFIS solutions enable customers to capture fingerprint images electronically, encode fingerprints into searchable files and accurately compare a set of fingerprints to a database containing potentially millions of fingerprints in seconds.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management’s current estimates and expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Cogent is providing this information as of the date of this press release, and expressly disclaims any duty to update information contained in this press release.
Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, express and implied statements regarding Cogent’s future domestic and international growth, and opportunities in the civil market for voting applications. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied here. Readers are referred to Cogent’s Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 filed by Cogent with the Securities and Exchange Commission which identifies important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: changes in government policies; deriving a significant portion of revenues from a limited number of customers; deriving a significant portion of revenues from the sale of solutions pursuant to government contracts; failure of the biometrics market to experience significant growth; failure of Cogent’s products to achieve broad acceptance; failure to successfully compete; failure to comply with government regulations; negative publicity and/or loss of clients due to security breaches resulting in the disclosure of confidential information; loss of export licenses or changes in export laws; failure to manage projects; rapid technology change in the biometrics market; loss of a key member of management team; termination of backlog orders; loss of limited source suppliers; negative audits by government agencies; failure to protect intellectual property; and exposure to intellectual property and product liability claims. The information contained in this press release is a statement of Cogent’s present intention, belief or expectation and is based upon, among other things, existing industry conditions, market conditions, the economy in general and Cogent’s assumptions. Cogent may change its intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in its assumptions or otherwise. Cogent undertakes no obligation to review or confirm analysts’ expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.The Blueshirt Group Chris Danne, 415-217-7722 chris@blueshirtgroup.com Rakesh Mehta, 415-217-7722 rakesh@blueshirtgroup.com