Professional services company Accenture (NYSE:ACN) recorded a drop in earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter, as new bookings fell by 10% on Thursday. The company posted a profit of $1.37 billion, or $2.15 per share, for the three months ending on August 31, down from $1.67 billion, or $2.60 per share in the same quarter a year ago.
Accenture, with a market cap of $188.01 billion, has been noted for its high earnings quality, with free cash flow exceeding net income, according to InvestingPro Tips. The company has also been profitable over the last twelve months, as indicated by a positive P/E ratio of 26.14.
After adjusting for one-time items, earnings were $2.71 per share, surpassing the FactSet analysts' expectation of $2.65 per share. The company has a track record of consistently increasing earnings per share, another point highlighted by InvestingPro Tips. Despite this beat on earnings, revenue for the quarter came in below expectations. Revenue increased to $15.99 billion from $15.42 billion in the year-ago period, falling short of analyst forecasts for $16.07 billion, according to FactSet.
The company's new bookings saw a significant drop to $16.6 billion from $18.4 billion a year ago. These bookings were almost evenly split between consulting and managed services. Accenture, a prominent player in the IT Services industry, has been noted for its high return on invested capital, another key point from InvestingPro Tips.
Accenture's consulting revenue overall decreased by 2%, while its managed services revenue experienced a more substantial fall of 10%. This decline in managed services revenue played a significant role in the company's overall drop in earnings for the quarter. Yet, despite the recent slowdown in revenue growth, Accenture has maintained dividend payments for 19 consecutive years, offering a dividend yield of 1.43%, according to InvestingPro Data.
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