Accenture, the world’s second-largest consulting and technology services provider, has reported a net income of $714.19m for the fiscal second quarter ended 29 February 2012, compared to $565.75m for the same period in 2011. Boosted by growth in its European business, the Dublin-based company upped its full-year forecast to profits of up to $3.90 per share – its previous estimate was a more conservative $3.84 a share.

Revenues were $7.26bn for the fiscal second quarter of 2012, compared to $6.5bn for the same period in 2011. Diluted earnings per share were $0.97 and $0.75 in fiscal 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Total revenues for the six months ended 29 February 2012 were $14.85bn, up from $12.97bn last year.

Pierre Nanterme, CEO of Accenture, said: “We are very pleased with our second-quarter performance, which included strong revenue growth in all five operating groups and all three geographic regions. We’re also pleased with our profitability – both the growth in EPS and the expansion of operating margin – due to the disciplined management of our business.”

Operating income was $889m, up by 15 per cent, and operating margin was 13.1 per cent.

New bookings for the quarter were $7.94bn, with consulting bookings of $4.05bn and outsourcing bookings of $3.89bn.

Nanterme added: “We continued to see solid demand for our services, as demonstrated by outstanding bookings of nearly $8bn, and our balance sheet remains very strong.”

For fiscal 2012, Accenture anticipates revenue growth in the range of 10 to 12 per cent in local currency.

“Given our strong results for the first half of fiscal 2012, we’ve raised our outlook for revenue growth and EPS for the year. We continue to invest to further differentiate our industry and technology capabilities and remain focused on gaining market share and driving profitable growth,” concluded Nanterme.