Accenture Net Jumps; Caterpillar, KB Home Declines, Worthington Surges

Mukesh Buch
24 Sep, 2015
New York City

Accenture net jumped and lifted revenues growth forecast. Caterpillar lowered revenue forecast. KB Home net declined 18% while revenues soared 43%. Korn-Ferry agreed to acquire Hay Group for $452 million. Scholastic net loss widened. Steelcase profit soared 22%. Worthington net tumbled 29%

[R]12:00 PM New York – Accenture net jumped and lifted revenues growth forecast. Caterpillar lowered revenue forecast. KB Home net declined 18% while revenues soared 43%. Korn-Ferry agreed to acquire Hay Group for $452 million. Scholastic net loss widened. Steelcase profit soared 22%. Worthington net tumbled 29%[/R]

Tollbooth Index slipped 112.71 or 1.1% to 10,238.54.

Earnings Review

Accenture Plc ((ACN)) slipped 1.2% or $1.21 to $96.65 after the Ireland-based outsourcing services provider reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in August rose 1.1% from a year ago to $8.36 billion.

Net income in the quarter jumped 4% to $788 million or $1.15 per diluted share compared to $760 million or $1.08 from the same quarter last year.

For the fiscal first-quarter, Accenture forecasted net revenues in the range of $7.70 billion to $7.95 billion.

Accenture estimated revenues growth for the year between 5% and 8% and diluted earnings per share in the range of $5.09 to $5.24.

Caterpillar Inc ((CAT)) plummeted 6% or $4.22 to $65.97 after the construction and mining equipment maker lowered revenues forecast for the year by $1 billion to about $48 billion and also lower operating costs of about $1.5 billion.

The company also plans to reduce its workforce by 4,000 to 5,000 by the end of 2016 and by 10,000 through 2018.

KB Home ((KBH)) plunged 5.1% or 74 cents to $13.71 after the homebuilder said revenues in the third-quarter ending in August surged 43% from a year ago to $843.2 million.

Net income in the quarter declined 18% to $23.3 million or 23 cents per diluted share compared to $28.4 million or 28 cents from the same quarter last year.

Korn/Ferry International ((KFY)) jumped 2.2% or 76 cents to $34.91 after the executive recruitment company agreed to acquire human resources provider Hay Group for about $452 million in cash and stock, consisting $252 million in cash and $200 million in stock.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of this year.

Scholastic Corp ((SCHL)) fell 20 cents to $42.50 after the books publisher and distributor stated revenues in the first-quarter ending in August edged up 0.4% from a year ago to $191.2 million.

Net loss in the quarter widened to $49.4 million or $1.48 per diluted share compared to $34.1 million or $1.05 from the same quarter last year.

Steelcase Inc ((SCS)) slid 12 cents to $18.18 after the integrated furniture provider said revenues in the second-quarter ending on August 29 jumped 4.1% from a year ago to $819 million.

Net income in the quarter soared 22% to $37.2 million or 30 cents per diluted share compared to $30.5 million or 24 cents from the same quarter last year.

Worthington Industries, Inc ((WOR)) surged 12.4% or $2.69 to $24.54 after the diversified metals processor stated revenues in the first-quarter ending in August declined 12% from a year ago to $758.1 million.

Net income in the quarter tumbled 29% to $31.4 million or 48 cents per diluted share compared to $44.2 million or 63 cents from the same quarter last year.

Xylem Inc ((XYL)) slid 11 cents to $31.67 after the water and wastewater services provider forecasted revenue for the year of about $3.7 billion and earnings per share in the range of $1.82 to $1.87.