ACN Accenture Plc

By Anne Steele 

Accenture PLC reported profit shot up 45% in the most recent quarter as revenue continues to grow across the consultancy's segments.

The Dublin-based company has been shifting its business to digital, cloud and security services through a number of acquisitions. On Thursday, Chief Executive Pierre Nanterme said the company will continue to invest in "high-growth areas across Accenture -- with a particular focus on digital, cloud and security services," which accounted for about 40% of Accenture's revenue in the fiscal year ended in August.

For the current fiscal year, Accenture expects to earn an unadjusted $5.75 to $5.98 a share, assuming flat foreign exchange impact. The company expects revenue to grow 5% to 8%, in line with analyst estimates for 7% growth.

And for the current quarter, the Accenture projected revenue of $8.4 billion to $8.65 billion, bracketing analyst estimates for $8.59 billion.

Accenture also declared a semiannual cash dividend of $1.21 a share, an 11-cent or 10% increase over its previous semiannual dividend, declared in March.

In the final quarter of its fiscal year, Accenture saw sales rise across almost all of its business segments. Its products unit -- its largest -- and health and public services unit saw the biggest climbs, at 17% and 11%, respectively.

In all for the August quarter, Accenture reported a profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.68 a share, up from $737.6 million, or $1.15 a share, a year prior. Excluding a $295 million, or 37 cent a share, gain on the sale of businesses, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.31 a share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for adjusted earnings of $1.30 a share.

Revenue rose 7.6% to $8.49 billion, topping the $8.25 billion to $8.39 billion the company had projected.

Gross margin edged down to 31.3% from 31.7%.

Shares, up 12% so far this year, rose 3.3% premarket to $120.50.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2016 09:59 ET (13:59 GMT)

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