In the three months ended May 31, 2004, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company grew net profit 59% to $210.4m on net revenue before reimbursements that grew 21% to $3.69bn.
Outsourcing has been the main growth area for Accenture and its peers over the last three years, which was reflected by the company growing its revenue in this area by 37% in US dollars to $1.36bn during the quarter.
More surprising was the 13% increase in US dollars in Accenture’s revenue from consulting, which reached $2.33bn in the quarter.
IT consulting spending has been depressed since 2000, but Accenture’s growth suggests that clients are unfreezing their budgets, particularly in the area of transformational deals, where the consultancy advises clients on how they can use technology to underpin a significant shift in their overall business strategy.
Accenture grew revenue in US dollars across all of its vertical operating units. The fastest growing sector was government, where sales rose 31% to $548m. Sales to communications and hi-tech firms increased 23% to $1.02bn during the quarter, and revenue from the financial services sector grew 24% to $753m.
The EMEA region accounted for the biggest share of Accenture’s revenue (48%), with sales from the region rising 27% in US dollars to $1.78bn. Revenue from the Americas rose 13% to $1.64bn, and sales from Asia Pacific grew 36% to $265m.
