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IT consulting firm Accenture has beat analysts' estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit while forecasting strong bookings for the current quarter, sending its shares up about 8 per cent.
The company has shifted its focus to offering digital and cloud services, which include managing clients’ social media marketing strategies and helping them move to cloud, in a bid to boost margins.
New bookings grew 4 per cent to US$11 billion in the third quarter ended May 31, with digital, cloud and security-related services accounting for about 70 per cent of them, CFO Kathleen McClure said in an earnings call with analysts.
Revenue slipped nearly 1 per cent to US$10.99 billion but managed to edge past analysts' average estimates of US$10.87 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Excluding items, the company earned US$1.90 per share, beating analysts' estimates of US$1.85 per share.
The online consulting and service provider, however, narrowed its fiscal 2020 revenue growth forecast to between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent amid the coronavirus-fueled economic slump. The prior forecast was for a growth of 3 per cent to 6 per cent.
Accenture, which competes with Cognizant and major Indian IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, expects foreign exchange rates to negatively impact its full-year results by 1.5 per cent compared to fiscal year 2019.
Shares of the company were up at US$217.19 in morning trade on Thursday.
(Reporting by Neha Malara; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
