By Don Nico Forbes
Accenture PLC reported a fall in net income for the fiscal third quarter, but noted a jump in new bookings including more than $900 million in bookings from generative AI.
The professional services company said Thursday that net income for the quarter was $1.98 billion, compared with $2.05 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
Diluted earnings per share were $3.04, down 3%.
Revenue came in at $16.5 billion, down 1% in dollars but an increase of 1.4% in local currency.
Meanwhile, operating income for the quarter increased 12% to $2.63 billion.
New bookings were $21.1 billion, an increase of 22% in U.S. dollars and 26% in local currency.
"We also achieved two significant milestones this quarter--with $2 billion in Generative AI sales year-to-date and $500 million in revenue year-to-date," said Chief Executive Julie Sweet.
The company declared a cash dividend of $1.29 per share for the quarter, an increase of 15%.
Looking ahead, Accenture said fiscal 2024 will face a foreign-exchange hit to results in dollars of 0.7%. The company previously expected the effect to be flat.
It now expects diluted EPS to be in the range of $11.29 to $11.44, compared with $11.41 to $11.64 previously.
However, revenue growth is seen in a range of 1.5% to 2.5% in local currency, compared with 1% to 3% previously.
Write to Don Nico Forbes at don.forbes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-20-24 0743ET