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Accenture profit gains, raises outlook; shares up
By Philipp Gollner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Accenture Ltd <ACN.N> posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday on strong consulting and outsourcing demand and increased its full-year earnings forecast, sending the technology services company's shares more than 4 percent higher.
Net income in Accenture's fiscal second quarter ended February 29 rose 37 percent to $406.6 million, or 64 cents per share, from $296.7 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Net revenue, which excludes reimbursements from clients for expenses such as consultants' travel, rose to $5.61 billion from $4.75 billion.
Accenture's results contrasted with disappointing financial targets set by technology bellwethers such as Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O> and chipmaker Intel Corp <INTC.O>, which recently gave muted forecasts citing a weakening U.S. economy.
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"Without a doubt, you have to characterize this quarter as outstanding," said Karl Keirstead, an analyst at Kaufman Bros who has a "hold" rating on the stock.
"The key question is how Accenture can be seeing such strengths in its client base, whereas the likes of Oracle and Cisco have been seeing some weakness."
Accenture executives told analysts on a conference call on Thursday that demand from financial services clients, hit hard by the credit turmoil, remained strong, especially in Europe and Asia.
Analysts, on average, expected second-quarter earnings per share of 56 cents before certain costs and revenue of $5.59 billion. The company had projected in December second-quarter net revenue from $5.5 billion to $5.7 billion.
Accenture on Thursday raised its fiscal 2008 earnings forecast by 19 cents per share to a range of $2.55 to $2.60, but kept its revenue growth forecast at 9 percent to 12 percent.
New bookings, a key indicator of future revenue, rose to $6.44 billion, including record consulting bookings of $3.79 billion. Total bookings exceeded analysts' expectations.
Accenture shares rose 4.4 percent to $37 in extended trading following the earnings report, after closing little- changed at $35.45 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Accenture shares have fallen 1.9 percent this year through Wednesday, less than the 8.7 percent decline of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, but underperforming competitor International Business Machines Corp's <IBM.N> 8.2 percent gain.
(Reporting by Philipp Gollner, editing by Phil Berlowitz/Andre Grenon)