UPDATE: Accenture Posts Better-Than-Expected Q4 Profit, Issues Upbeat FY13 Forecast

Accenture PLC

reported a drop in its fourth-quarter profit. Accenture's quarterly net income fell to $578.3 million, or $0.88 per share, from $611.9 million, or $0.91 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its net revenue gained 2% to $6.84 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.87 per share on net revenue of $6.75 billion. Accenture declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.81 per share, up 67.5 cents per share. For the full fiscal year, Accenture's net income rose to $2.55 billion, or $3.84 per share, from $2.28 billion, $3.39 per share, in the year-ago period. Its net revenue climbed to $27.86 billion from $25.51 billion. Accenture projects current fiscal-year earnings of $4.22 to $4.30 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $4.17 per share. Accenture shares gained 3.84% to $67.89 in after-hours trading.