Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Thursday. The company posted $1.31 in earnings per share (EPS) on $8.5 billion in revenue. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $1.30 in EPS on revenue of $8.43 billion. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $1.15 and $7.89 billion in revenue.
The board of directors declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $1.21 per share, an increase of $0.11 per share, or 10% over its previous semi-annual dividend, declared in March.
New bookings for the fourth quarter were $9.0 billion and reflected a negative 2% foreign exchange impact compared with new bookings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015:
- Consulting new bookings were $4.8 billion, or 53% of total new bookings.
- Outsourcing new bookings were $4.2 billion, making up the remainder.
In terms of the outlook for the first quarter, the company expects to have revenue in the range of $8.40 billion to $8.65 billion. The consensus estimate is $8.59 billion in revenue.
Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s board chair and chief executive, commented on earnings:
We are very pleased with our excellent financial results for both the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year 2016. For the year, we delivered double-digit revenue growth in local currency and gained significant market share, generated strong new bookings, expanded operating margin, and delivered outstanding earnings per share. We also generated excellent free cash flow and returned more than $4 billion in cash to our shareholders.
Shares of Accenture hit a new 53-week high of $124.96 on Thursday morning. The consensus analyst price target is $124.64, and the 52-week low is $91.40.
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