Accenture Rides Cloud Revenue Surge; Conagra, McCormick Net Tumble

Mukesh Buch
28 Sep, 2017
New York City

Accenture net declined but digital and cloud services revenues surged. BlackBerry net swung to profit on record software sales. Conagra reported strong result but net tumbled. McCormick net plunged 15%. Vail Resorts net loss narrowed. Rite Aid net surged.

[R]11:45 AM New York – Accenture net declined but digital and cloud services revenues surged. BlackBerry net swung to profit on record software sales. Conagra reported strong result but net tumbled. McCormick net plunged 15%. Vail Resorts net loss narrowed. Rite Aid net surged.[/R]

Tollbooth Index slipped 26.64 or 0.2% to 12,569.90.

Earnings Review

Accenture Plc fell 37 cents to $136.27 after the professional services provider reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in August jumped 7.5% from a year ago to $9.6 billion.

Net income in the quarter declined 12.8% to $932.5 million or $1.48 per diluted share from $1.1 billion or $1.68 in the same quarter last year.

Accenture said fiscal 2017, net revenues from “the New” digital, cloud and security services surged 30% to $18 billion from a year ago period.

The consulting and outsourcing services provider forecasted fiscal 2017 revenues in the range of 5% to 8% and diluted earnings per share in the range of $6.36 and $6.60.

BlackBerry Ltd ((BBRY)) surged 12.4% or $1.15 to $10.38 after the Canada-based mobile communication services provider said revenues in the second-quarter ending in August plunged 28.7% from a year ago to $238 million.

Net in the quarter swung to profit $19 million but loss of 7 cents per diluted share from a loss of $372 million or 71 cents in the same quarter last year.

The communication company said gross margin in the quarter surged 73.5% from 29.3% in a year ago period.

Conagra Brands, Inc., formerly ConAgra Foods, Inc ((CAG)) advanced 2.2% or 72 cents to $34.08 after the packaged food maker reported net sales in the first-quarter ending on August 27 dropped 4.8% from a year ago to $1.8 billion.

Net income in the quarter tumbled 18.1% to $152.5 million or 36 cents per diluted share from $186.2 million or 42 cents in the same quarter last year.

""Fiscal 2018 is off to a strong start. We continued to see gross margin expansion, despite higher than expected inflation,” said president and chief executive officer Sean Connolly.

Conagra also reaffirmed its fiscal 2018 forecast.

McCormick & Company, Inc ((MKC)) jumped 4.8% or $4.59 cents to $101.04 after the spices and seasoning mixes maker said sale in the third-quarter ending in August soared 9% from a year ago to $1.2 billion.

Net income in the quarter plunged 15.3% to $108.2 million or 85 cents per diluted share from $127.7 million or $1 in the same quarter last year.

McCormick estimated fiscal 2017 earnings per share in the range of $3.69 to $3.73 compared to the reported earnings per share in 2016 of $3.69.

Vail Resorts, Inc ((MTN)) slumped 2.5% or $5.69 to $222.35 after the ski resorts and luxury hotels operator reported revenues in the fourth-quarter ending in July soared 16.2% from a year ago to $209.1 million.

Net loss in the quarter narrowed to $57.1 million or $1.43 per diluted share from $65.3 million or $1.80 in the same quarter last year.

The resorts operator forecasted fiscal 2018 net income between $234 million and $272 million and operating profit in the range of $652 million to $682 million.

Rite Aid Corporation ((RAD)) tumbled 11.2% or 25 cents to $2.03 after the drugs retailer stated revenues in the second-quarter ending on September declined 4.4% from a year ago to $7.7 billion.

Same-store sales in the quarter slumped 3.4% and retail pharmacy revenues dropped 3.4% to $6.3 billion driven by declines in same-store sales and reimbursement rates and pharmacy segment revenues plummeted 8.7% to $1.5 billion.

Net income in the quarter surged to $170.7 million or 16 cents per diluted share from $14.8 million or 1 cent in the same quarter last year.