Accenture Reports Strong 1Q Sales, Raises Outlook For 2004Accenture Reports Strong 1Q Sales, Raises Outlook For 2004

IT services and consulting firm Accenture on Tuesday posted mixed first-quarter results. Revenue jumped 11% from the year-ago quarter, from $2.93 billion to $3.26 billion, but per-share earnings, excluding onetime gain, held steady at 27 cents. On the same basis, however, operating income fell from $429 million in the first quarter of 2003 to $421 million in the fiscal first quarter, which ended Nov. 30.

Gross margins also declined from 39.4% to 34.1% as more of Accenture's revenue shifts from high-margin consulting to less-lucrative outsourcing.

On the upside, the Accenture raised its prediction for bookings in 2004, saying it expects total bookings in the current year of $18 billion to $20 billion. In October, the company said it expected bookings in fiscal 2004 to come in between $16 million and $18 billion. In a research note published Tuesday, SoundView Technology analyst John Jones said Accenture is benefiting from an uptick in the global economy. "Economic improvements are being seen in many countries, producing technology investments," Jones said.

Accenture saw the strongest revenue growth in its government business, where sales increased 33%, to $478 million in the first quarter from $359 million in the year-earlier period. Sales to the communications and high-tech markets increased 6%, to $879 million from $830 million. Sales to the financial-services industry rose 7%, to $646 million from $602 million.