Accenture Boosts FY21 Outlook; Raises Dividend 10% – Quick Facts
While reporting financial results for the second quarter on Thursday, professional services company Accenture Plc (ACN) raised its earnings and revenue growth outlook for the full-year 2021 and also provided revenue outlook for the third quarter.
For fiscal 2021, the company now expects earnings in a range of $8.67 to $8.85 per share and adjusted earnings in a range of $8.32 to $8.50 per share on revenue growth of 6.5 to 8.5 percent in local currency.
Previously, the company projected earnings in a range of $8.17 to $8.40 per share and adjusted earnings in a range of $8.02 to $8.25 per share on revenue growth of 4 to 6 percent in local currency.
The company continues to assume that the foreign-exchange impact on its results in U.S. dollars for 2021 will be positive 3% compared with fiscal 2020.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $8.23 per share on revenue growth of 7.4 percent to $51.36 billion for the year. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
For the third quarter, the company projects revenues in the range of $12.55 billion to $12.95 billion, 10% to 13% growth in local currency, reflecting the company’s assumption of a positive 4.5% foreign-exchange impact over last year. The street is looking for revenues of $12.18 billion for the quarter.
The company said it now expects to return at least $5.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, compared with at least $5.3 billion previously.
Accenture’s Board of Directors has declared a 10% higher quarterly cash dividend of $0.88 per share, payable on May 14, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2021.
Further, the company announced a one-time bonus, equal to one week of base pay, for its people below managing director. This bonus recognizes the exceptional contributions and dedication of all Accenture people to its clients during this challenging year.
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