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Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, ending 31 May 2024. The company reported revenues of $16.5 billion, reflecting a 1% decrease in U.S. dollars but a 1.4% increase in local currency compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2023. The GAAP operating income rose to $2.63 billion from $2.36 billion in the previous year's third quarter, with an operating margin improvement from 14.2% to 16.0%. Adjusted operating income remained steady at $2.71 billion, resulting in a slightly higher adjusted operating margin of 16.4%, compared to 16.3% last year.
Earnings Per Share and New Bookings
The company reported GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.04, a 3% decrease from $3.15 in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Adjusted EPS also saw a slight decline, falling 2% from $3.19 to $3.13. Despite these decreases, Accenture achieved robust new bookings totaling $21.1 billion, with consulting bookings of $9.3 billion and managed services bookings of $11.8 billion.
Returning Cash to Shareholders
Accenture continues to prioritize returning cash to its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
Dividend Payments
On 15 May 2024, Accenture paid a quarterly cash dividend of $1.29 per share to shareholders of record as of 11 April 2024, amounting to $811 million in total dividend payments. Additionally, Accenture declared another quarterly cash dividend of $1.29 per share, payable on 15 August 2024, for shareholders of record on 11 July 2024. This new dividend represents a 15% increase from the $1.12 per share dividend in fiscal 2023.
Share Repurchase Activity
During Q3 2024, Accenture repurchased or redeemed 4.3 million shares, totalling $1.4 billion. This includes approximately 4.1 million shares repurchased in the open market, demonstrating the company’s commitment to enhancing shareholder value.
Business Outlook
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2024
Looking ahead, Accenture expects Q4 2024 revenues to be between $16.05 billion and $16.65 billion. This projection represents a 2% to 6% growth in local currency, considering an anticipated negative 2% foreign-exchange impact compared to Q4 2023.
Fiscal Year 2024
For the entire fiscal year 2024, Accenture now forecasts a foreign-exchange impact of negative 0.7% on its U.S. dollar results, a revision from its previous flat expectation. The company expects revenue growth in the range of 1.5% to 2.5% in local currency, slightly adjusted from the prior range of 1% to 3%.
Accenture continues to project a GAAP operating margin of 14.8% for fiscal 2024, an expansion of 110 basis points from fiscal 2023. The adjusted operating margin, excluding estimated business optimization costs, is expected to be 15.5%, a modest increase of 10 basis points from the previous year.
The company has also revised its GAAP and adjusted annual effective tax rate to a range of 23.5% to 24.5%, compared to the previous expectation of 22.5% to 24.5%.
