Summary
Accenture plc (ACN) reported strong financial results for the second quarter and first half of fiscal year 2020, ending February 29, 2020. Revenues grew 7% in U.S. dollars and 8% in local currency year-over-year for both the quarter and the six-month period. This growth was broad-based across operating groups and geographic regions, with notable strength in Health & Public Service and Products. The company demonstrated improved profitability, with gross margin increasing to 30.2% for the quarter and 31.1% for the six months, driven by lower labor and non-payroll costs. Operating margin also saw a slight increase to 13.4% for the quarter and 14.5% for the six months. Diluted earnings per share rose to $1.91 for the quarter and $4.00 for the six months, reflecting the solid operational performance. The company also maintained a strong cash position, though cash and cash equivalents decreased slightly to $5.4 billion from $6.1 billion at the beginning of the fiscal year due to investing and financing activities, including significant share repurchases and dividend payments.
Financial Highlights
53 data points| Revenue | $11.14B |
| Cost of Revenue | $7.78B |
| Gross Profit | $3.36B |
| Operating Expenses | $9.65B |
| Operating Income | $1.49B |
| Interest Expense | $8.57M |
| Net Income | $1.23B |
| EPS (Basic) | $1.94 |
| EPS (Diluted) | $1.91 |
| Shares Outstanding (Basic) | 637.49M |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted) | 648.83M |
Key Highlights
- 1Revenues increased 7% in U.S. dollars and 8% in local currency for both the second quarter and the first six months of fiscal year 2020 compared to the prior year periods.
- 2Strong revenue growth was observed across key segments, particularly in Health & Public Service (+15% in local currency for the quarter) and Products (+10% in local currency for the quarter).
- 3Gross margin improved to 30.2% for the quarter and 31.1% for the six months, driven by better cost management (lower labor and non-payroll costs).
- 4Diluted earnings per share saw a significant increase, reaching $1.91 for the quarter and $4.00 for the six months.
- 5The company repurchased $1.7 billion of its Class A ordinary shares and $7,000 of exchangeable shares during the first six months of fiscal year 2020.
- 6Accenture declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.80 per share, indicating consistent returns to shareholders.
- 7The company adopted new lease accounting standards (Topic 842) effective September 1, 2019, resulting in the recognition of significant lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet.