Accenture says the crisis in Ukraine is unsettling customers

Accenture said the crisis in Ukraine was unsettling customers, joining companies from DuPont to Commercial Metals in bracing for a financial impact from Russia’s confrontation with its neighbour.

“We are carefully monitoring the recent geopolitical developments in eastern Europe, which are introducing the additional level of uncertainty in the marketplace,” Accenture chairman Pierre Nanterme said on a conference call yesterday.

The global economic environment “frankly continues to be challenging, especially in the emerging markets”.

Accenture, the world’s second largest technology-consulting company, has been counting on growth in emerging markets to help make up for sluggish growth in western Europe and the US. The Dublin-based company got 40 per cent of its $7.13 billion in sales last quarter from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

A spokesman for Accenture declined to comment on Mr Nanterme's remarks. Shares of Accenture dropped 6.5 per cent to $77.61 at 1:45pm in New York yesterday.

Fourth quarter
Accenture trails International Business Machines in the technology-consulting industry. IBM's fourth quarter revenue from Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell 2 per cent last quarter from a year earlier.

James Sciales, a spokesman for IBM, declined to comment on its business in eastern Europe. – (Bloomberg)