Accenture(ACN) - 2025 Q1 - Quarterly Report

Financial Performance - Revenues for Q1 fiscal 2025 were $17.7 billion, a 9% increase in U.S. dollars and 8% in local currency compared to Q1 fiscal 2024[47] - New bookings reached$ 18.7 billion, reflecting a 1% increase in both U.S. dollars and local currency[47] - Operating margin improved to 16.7%, up from 15.8% in Q1 fiscal 2024[47] - Diluted earnings per share increased by 16% to $3.59, compared to$ 3.10 in Q1 fiscal 2024[47] - Revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 were $17.69 billion, a 9% increase from$ 16.22 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2024[55] - Operating income for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 increased by $384 million, or 15%, reaching$ 2,948 million, with an operating margin of 16.7% compared to 15.8% in the prior year[57] - Operating income for the Americas increased to $1,377 million, with an operating margin of 16% for Q1 fiscal 2025, compared to$ 1,293 million and 16.7% in Q1 fiscal 2024[58] - Interest income decreased by $26 million, or 25%, to$ 76 million in Q1 fiscal 2025, primarily due to lower interest rates and a reduced average cash balance[58] - Diluted earnings per share rose to $3.59 in Q1 fiscal 2025, up from$ 3.10 in Q1 fiscal 2024, driven by higher revenue and lower effective tax rates[60] Shareholder Returns - Cash returned to shareholders totaled $1.8 billion, including$ 926 million in dividends and $898 million in share repurchases[47] - The company plans to continue using a significant portion of cash generated from operations for share repurchases during the remainder of fiscal 2025[62] Revenue Growth by Segment - Consulting revenues grew by 7% in U.S. dollars and 6% in local currency, driven by strong demand for technology and AI-led transformations[49] - Managed services revenues increased by 11% in both U.S. dollars and local currency, supported by demand for application modernization and cloud services[49] - Americas revenues increased by 11% in local currency, driven by growth in Industrial, Software & Platforms, Banking & Capital Markets, and Consumer Goods, Retail & Travel Services[53] - EMEA revenues increased by 6% in local currency, led by growth in Public Service and Life Sciences, with total revenues of$ 6,412 million[55] - Asia Pacific revenues increased by 4% in local currency, totaling $2,544 million, driven by growth in Utilities and Health[55] Workforce and Attrition - The workforce expanded to approximately 799,000, up from 743,000 a year earlier, reflecting increased demand for services[49] - Annualized voluntary attrition rose to 12%, compared to 11% in the same quarter last year[49] Operating Expenses - Operating expenses for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 increased by$ 1,082 million, or 8%, totaling $14,741 million, while decreasing as a percentage of revenues to 83.3% from 84.2%[56] - Cost of services increased by$ 1,090 million, or 10%, totaling $11,867 million, with a gross margin decrease to 32.9% from 33.6%[56] - Sales and marketing expenses rose by$ 101 million, or 6%, totaling $1,811 million, while decreasing as a percentage of revenues to 10.2%[56] Cash Flow and Liquidity - Cash and cash equivalents increased to$ 8.3 billion as of November 30, 2024, compared to $5.0 billion as of August 31, 2024[60] - Operating cash flows increased by$ 524 million to $1,022 million in Q1 fiscal 2025, attributed to higher net income and changes in operating assets and liabilities[61] - The company reported a net increase in cash and cash equivalents of$ 3,302 million for Q1 fiscal 2025, compared to a decrease of $1,904 million in Q1 fiscal 2024[61] - Long-term debt as of November 30, 2024, amounted to$ 5 billion, with maturities ranging from 2027 to 2034[62] Taxation - The effective tax rate for Q1 fiscal 2025 was 21.6%, down from 23.2% in Q1 fiscal 2024, primarily due to higher benefits from adjustments to prior year tax liabilities[58] - Business optimization costs of $140 million in Q1 fiscal 2024 had an immaterial impact on the adjusted effective tax rate[58] Business Optimization - The company initiated business optimization actions, recording$ 1.5 billion related to employee severance costs, which have been completed as of August 31, 2024[56]