Accenture lowers revenue outlook for 2013

The company earlier projected the revenue outlook in the range of 5-8%

Outsourcing services provider Accenture has cut its revenue outlook for the fiscal year 2013 to 3-4% on account of reduced spending from the firm's consulting business, in signs of haze setting over the IT sector which had showed signs of buoyancy recently.

The US-based company had earlier projected the revenue outlook to be in the range of 5-8%.

"The company has updated its revenue outlook for fiscal 2013 and now expects net revenue growth to be in the range of 3% to 4% in local currency. Accenture previously expected net revenue growth for the year to be in the lower half of the range of 5% to 8% in local currency," the company said in a release.

Accenture's business outlook for the full 2013 fiscal year now assumes a foreign-exchange impact of negative 1.7% compared with fiscal 2012. Its previous assumption was negative 1%, it added.

It follows September-August as the fiscal year.

Presenting the firm's results for the quarter ended May 31, 2013 yesterday, Accenture chairman and CEO Pierre Nanterme said "Our third-quarter results were solid overall, although consulting revenues were below our expectations."

Consulting net revenues for the quarter were $3.9 billion, a decrease of 2% in US dollars compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the release said.

"Flat growth in consulting revenues in the quarter reflected a lower level of consulting bookings than expected and contracts converting to revenue at a slower rate overall than expected," it added.

For the fourth quarter ending August, the company said it in the range of $6.7-7 billion.

"Accenture expects net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 to be in the range of $6.7 billion to $7 billion. This range assumes a foreign-exchange impact of negative 1% compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012," it added.

For the March-May quarter of 2013, Accenture's net income rose to $810.25 million against $689.21 million during the same quarter of 2012 fiscal.

Its net revenues remained almost unchanged at $7.2 billion during the third quarter of 2013 fiscal compared to the year-ago period.