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- rose 3 per:IT services provider Accenture forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street goals on Tuesday, expecting cautious spending by clients as macroeconomic uncertainty remains an overhang.
- Shares of the company fell 3 per cent in trading before the bell. They have made over 28 per cent so far this year, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index.
- Analysts expect IT services spending to remain muted in the near term as businesses typically decide their yearly budgets only after February. Accenture itself had pointed to slower budget-related decision-making, especially in tech and media companies.
- India’s IT services giant Tata Consultancy Services reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results in October, while Infosys cut the upper end of its annual revenue forecast as clients were still hesitant to spend on discretionary projects. Both companies are Accenture’s competitors in the outsourcing game.
- Accenture forecasts revenue in the range of $15.40 billion to $16.00 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast sales of $16.29 billion.
- Its sales in the first quarter ended Nov.30How Houthi attacks in the Red Sea affects shipping in the Suez Canal
- LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi group on commercial ships at the southern end of the Red Sea have led several shipping companies to divert vessels, avoiding a route that would take them through Egypt’s Suez Canal in the north and its link to the Mediterranean Sea.
- The Iran-aligned group says the aim of the attacks is to back the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war.
- The re-routing adds cost and time to vessel trips. Oil costs and war risk insurance premiums have spiked as a result.
- A ship carrying Saudi crude from the Mideast Gulf can make it to Rotterdam, for example, in 6,436 nautical miles if it crosses the canal. Going around Africa increases the trip to 11,169 nautical miles, adding time and cost to a shipowner.
- WHAT’S THE IMPACT ON CANAL NAVIGATION SO FAR? * On Dec. 17, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said that since Nov. 19, 55 ships have rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, while 2,128 have passed through the canal in the same time.
- Two major freight firms including MSC, the world’s biggest container shipping line, said on Saturday they would avoid the Suez Canal as Houthi militants stepped up their attacks.
- SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said that on Dec. 17, 77 ships went through the canal, including some ships belonging to shipping lines that had announced temporary diversions. Those were vessels that were already in the Red Sea area before the announcements were made.
- On Dec. 18 oil major BP (BP.L) also briefly paused all transits through the Red Sea.
- Accenture expects Q2 sales below estimates on IT spending weakness rose 3 per:IT services provider Accenture forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street goals on Tuesday, expecting cautious spending by clients as macroeconomic uncertainty remains an overhang.
- Shares of the company fell 3 per cent in trading before the bell. They have made over 28 per cent so far this year, outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index.
- Analysts expect IT services spending to remain muted in the near term as businesses typically decide their yearly budgets only after February. Accenture itself had pointed to slower budget-related decision-making, especially in tech and media companies.
- India’s IT services giant Tata Consultancy Services reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results in October, while Infosys cut the upper end of its annual revenue forecast as clients were still hesitant to spend on discretionary projects. Both companies are Accenture’s competitors in the outsourcing game.
- Accenture forecasts revenue in the range of $15.40 billion to $16.00 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast sales of $16.29 billion.
- Its sales in the first quarter ended Nov.30
