Consulting and outsourcing company Accenture Plc (NASDAQ: ACN) raised its full-year revenue growth forecast for the second time as it won more business, mainly in its outsourcing unit, from companies looking to cut costs.
The company also reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Thursday, helped by growth in outsourcing revenue from North American clients.
Revenue in the company's outsourcing business, which accounts for almost half its total revenue, rose 6% in U.S. dollar terms in the second quarter, while revenue in its consulting business grew 4%.
Accenture said it expected revenue to grow 8-10 percent on a local-currency basis in the year ending August.
The company had raised its revenue growth forecast to 5-8 percent in December from 4-7 percent it forecast initially.
Accenture, however, cut the top end of its full-year earnings forecast range, saying it expected the negative impact of a strong dollar to be higher than previously anticipated.
The company's net income rose to $743.2 million U.S., or $1.08 per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 28 from $722.3 million U.S., or $1.03 per share, a year earlier.
Net revenue rose 5% to $7.49 billion U.S..
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.07 per share and revenue of $7.38 billion
Shares in the company rocketed higher $6.69, or 7.6%, mid-morning Thursday, to $94.90 U.S. , a new 52-week high, towering over a 52-week low of $73.98 U.S.
