Global IT services company Accenture PLC (ACN, Financial) raised its full-year expectations after reporting strong growth throughout its fiscal third quarter.
On Thursday, the company reported quarterly revenue of $13.26 billion, a 21% increase in U.S. dollars year over year, that beat the FactSet consensus of $12.81 billion. Diluted earnings per share grew 26% to $2.40 per share compared to the year-ago quarter.
“Our outstanding financial results reflect our continued momentum driven by the demand for digital transformation, the depth and breadth of our client relationships with the world’s leading companies, our talented people and the strength of our business across geographic markets, industries and services,” Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said.
Accenture (ACN, Financial) raised its 2021 revenue growth expectations to 10% to 11% compared to the 6.5% to 8.5% expected previously. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $8.71 to $8.81 for an increase of 17% to 18%.
Compared to the year-ago quarter, new bookings grew 39% to a total of $15.4 billion. Accenture’s consulting bookings grew 30% to $8 billion and outsourcing bookings grew 52% to $7.4 billion. In addition to the new bookings, the Irish company acquired 39 new companies to expand their scale and capabilities in digital and cloud services.
The company’s Health & Public Service industry group saw the largest revenue growth at 25% in U.S. dollars and 21% in local currencies year over year. Each of the other four industry groups saw revenue grow between 8% and 23% during the quarter, bringing in over $10 billion in sales.
Accenture also paid a quarterly cash dividend of 88 cents per share to shareholders and has declared the same payout will be made at the close of business on July 15. The payout during the company’s third quarter brought the yearly total to $1.68 billion paid to shareholders.
On June 24, the stock was trading at $290.50 per share, up 1.68%, with a market cap of $184.43 billion. According to the GF Value Line, the shares are trading at a significantly overvalued rating.
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