IT mega-consultancy Accenture earned a profit of $2.59 billion on $15.7 billion in revenue during its fiscal first quarter ended November 30. 

Primarily known as a provider of IT services, Accenture is also a leading player in several other parts of the consulting market. It assists clients with digital marketing, corporate strategy and back office tasks such as HR. 

Of the $15.7 billion in revenue that Accenture generated during its fiscal first quarter, $7.3 billion was delivered by its managed services business. The business makes most of its money from long-term client engagements, such as contracts in which it’s entrusted with managing a company’s IT systems.

The other major source of Accenture revenue is its consulting arm. This unit, which generated $8.1 billion in sales during the first quarter, focuses on one-time projects such as application development projects.

“Our strong first quarter results reflect our laser focus on creating value for our clients, as well as the significant investments in our business and capabilities we make year in and year out to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” commented Accenture CEO Julie Sweet.

Those investments include acquisitions. There are years when Accenture acquires dozens of companies, mostly small and midsize consultancies, to bolster its capabilities. 

Much of Accenture’s revenue comes from a handful of major vertical markets.

Accenture issued invoices worth $2.98 billion to companies in the communications, media and technology sector during the first quarter, while financial sector clients were billed $2.96 million. The market Accenture refers to as its products vertical, which includes the manufacturing sector and several related industries, accounted for $4.67 billion in sales.

Overall, the $15.7 billion in total revenue that Accenture generated during the quarter amounts to a 5% increase over the year-ago period. But when accounting for currency fluctuations, that number triples to an impressive 15%.

It’s also worth adjusting for currency fluctuations when examining how Accenture’s results compare with its internal sales expectations. On an adjusted basis, Accenture beat its internal guidance by about $150 million.

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