Riding an increasing demand for large-scale business-intelligencesystems, Cognos Inc. Wednesday reported a surge in sales and profits for its second quarter ended Aug. 31. Cognos' profitability stands in contrast to rivals Brio Technology Inc. and MicroStrategy Inc., which have recently posted quarterly losses.

Cognos reported revenue of $118.2 million for the quarter, up 34% from $88.1 million a year ago. Net income grew 29% to $16.5 million, compared to $12.8 million a year earlier. Product license revenue in the quarter increased 38%, from $44.5 million a year ago to $61.5 million. Product support revenue reached $35.7 million in the quarter, while service revenue was $21 million.

Revenue growth was driven by sales of Cognos' business-intelligence technology for large-scale intranet and extranet deployments. Sales in this segment totaling over $50,000 climbed 42% from a year ago, according to the company. Together, business-intelligence software and related services accounted for $106.8 million in sales, up 44% from last year.

Cognos also has disclosed that it acquired NoticeCast Software Ltd., a U.K.-based developer of event-notification software, for $15 million in cash and stock. The NoticeCast software monitors business processes and notifies users of events or changes via E- mail, Web portals, or portable devices. Cognos will incorporate the NoticeCast software into its platform some time next year.