Boston, MA 09/25/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) recently published its fourth quarter (4Q2014), and FY2014 ended August 31, 2014.
Highlights
During 4Q2014, Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) reported net revenues of $7.8 billion, operating margin of 13.9% and diluted EPS of $1.08. The operating cash flow during the period was $1.5 billion and net bookings of $8.3 billion.
In FY2014, net revenues were $30.0 billion (+5% at constant currency), operating margin 14.3% and adjusted diluted EPS of $4.52. Operating cash flows were $3.5 billion with net bookings of $35.9 billion.
Accenture’s CEO, Pierre Nanterme said that Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) achieved the target with strong revenue growth across its business units due to increasing net bookings. The Company generated strong free cash flow and also returned $3.8 billion to its shareholders.
Operation
In 4Q2014, the Consulting division reported net revenues of $4.0 billion, an increase by 4% at local currency versus the same period in 2013. At the same time, Outsourcing division recorded net revenues of $3.8 billion, up by 13% in local currency than 4Q2013.
New bookings during the period were $8.3 billion due to increase in both net bookings in consulting and outsourcing businesses as $3.9 billion and $4.4 billion respectively. Cost of services and selling and marketing expenses also increased compared to prior year period.
Consequently, gross margin during the period was 31.7% versus 33.2 % in 4Q2013 and operating income was $1.08 billion compared to $0.98 billion in 4Q2013.
Liquidity
Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) generated cash flow of $1.65 billion from its operating activities (4Q2013: $1.28 billion) and free cash flow of $1.55 billion (4Q2013: $1.17 billion). Accenture has a strong financial position with cash and cash equivalents of $4.9 billion as of August 31, 2014.
Conclusion
Based on the current bookings trend, Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) expects to generate net revenues at a growth of 4 -7% at local currency in FY2015. It also anticipates a negative impact of the foreign exchange in the FY2015 compared to current fiscal year. It also expects 10 to 30 bps expansion in operating margin in FY2015 (14.4 – 14.6%) and a diluted EPS at a range of $4.74 – $4.88.
Moreover, Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) expects to generate operating cash flow of $3.95 – $4.25 billion and free cash flow of $3.5 – $3.8 billion in FY2015.
