OTTAWA, April 10, 2002—Cognos Incorporated (Nasdaq: COGN; TSE: CSN), the world leader in business intelligence solutions, today announced results for the Company's fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2002, ended February 28, 2002. Revenue for the quarter was $142.8 million, which represented a sequential increase of 15 percent from the previous quarter. Revenue for the same period last year was $144.1 million.

Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002 was $26.9 million or $0.29 per share, compared with $22.1 million or $0.24 per share for the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002 the Company reversed $2.6 million of the $12.8 million restructuring charge recorded in the first quarter of the year, due to lower than planned restructuring expenditures. Excluding the effect of the restructuring charge, net income per share was $0.27 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002.

Revenue for the full fiscal year 2002 was $491.3 million, compared with revenue of $495.7 million for the previous year. Net income for fiscal year 2002 was $36.2 million, or $0.40 per share. This compares with the prior year's net income of $64.3 million, or $0.70 per share. Excluding the effect of the restructuring charge, net income for fiscal 2002 was $43.4 million, or $0.48 per share. This compares with net income of $67.3 million, or $0.73 per share for the prior year, excluding the effect of the acquired in-process technology write-down of $3.0 million. All figures are stated in U.S. dollars.

Business intelligence (BI) license revenue continued its strong momentum in the fourth quarter, reaching $73.0 million. This was a sequential increase of 29 percent from the previous quarter. BI license revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001 was $75.9 million. Total BI revenue increased sequentially by 17 percent from the third quarter to reach $133.6 million. This compares to $132.0 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

Cognos continued to strengthen its balance sheet during the quarter. Net cash flow was $46.4 million, resulting in the Company increasing its cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments to $314.5 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

Highlights of the Quarter

• Seven contracts in excess of $1 million, an all-time high

• 89 contracts in excess of $200,000, a 41 percent increase from the third quarter

• Strong acceptance of Cognos Series 7

• Sizable market share lead in North America, almost double that of nearest competitor

"We are very pleased with the results for the fourth quarter," said Cognos Chief Executive Officer Ron Zambonini. "Cognos' leadership position in the BI market remains firm, and we are optimistic about future growth opportunities for the Company and the market."

Major organizations throughout the world continue to make significant commitments to the Cognos enterprise business intelligence solution. The Company was awarded 89 contracts greater than $200,000 in the fourth quarter, an increase of 41 percent compared with the previous quarter and equal to the highest ever for this category.

In addition, the Company booked seven orders greater than $1 million in the quarter, which was also an all-time high. These contracts demonstrate the continued penetration of the Cognos BI solution in enterprise deployments encompassing intranets and extranets alike. They represent leading organizations from a breadth of industries: GE Medical Systems, American Airlines, the Australian Department of Defense, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, LandAmerica Financial, Total System Services, and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.

"We are in the early stages of the strongest new product cycle in the history of the Company. Cognos Series 7 began shipping in the fourth quarter and is receiving very positive feedback. We enhanced the richness of our analytic applications product family with the introduction of our new planning module for Cognos Finance and the full suite of applications for the Oracle environment. Applications addressing the SAP environment are on target to ship in the first quarter of fiscal 2003. The breadth and depth of our product offering positions Cognos as the only BI vendor to deliver true enterprise business intelligence for corporate performance management."

"The outlook is positive, given the strong business momentum of the Company. We will continue to focus on our business model to establish strong direct relationships with our customers, and on further strengthening our position in the market. We believe that our considerable corporate assets — including our strong balance sheet, global market leadership, broad and loyal customer base, experienced and cohesive management team, and strong new product cycle — position us well for continued success," concluded Mr. Zambonini.

Cognos will present the Company's fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2002 results, and discuss expectations for the future at 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time, today, April 10, 2002. The conference call may be accessed at 416-640-1907. The Webcast may be accessed at www.cognos.com/company/investor/earnings_fy02q4.html.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, express or implied, relating to, among other things, the Company's expectations concerning: its future financial performance and continuing business momentum, its future growth opportunities, the success and soundness of the Company's business model and its sales, marketing and technology strategies; the trends and opportunities in the business intelligence ("BI") marketplace; the development, introduction, shipment and market acceptance of the Company's current and future products; the Company's leadership position in the BI market; and its ability to attract and retain highly qualified management and key personnel.

These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company's ability to develop and introduce new products and enhancements in the BI software market; the impact of global economic conditions on the Company's business and the Company's ability to implement timely and appropriate remedial measures; the Company's ability to select and implement appropriate business models and strategies; the Company's ability to maintain revenue growth or to anticipate a decline in revenue from any of its products or services; fluctuations in its quarterly and annual operating results based on historical patterns, which may cause its stock price to fluctuate or decline; rapid technological change in the business intelligence software market; new product introductions and enhancements by competitors; the Company's ability to compete in an intensely competitive market; the Company's reliance on partners and other third party distribution channels to market and distribute its products; unauthorized use of the Company's intellectual property; claims by third parties that its software infringes their intellectual property; the risks inherent in international operations, such as currency exchange rate fluctuations; the Company's ability to identify, hire, train, motivate and retain highly qualified management and other key personnel; and the Company's ability to identify, pursue and complete acquisitions which could divert management attention and financial resources and not produce desired business results; as well as the risk factors discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statement to reflect any change in its expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.