March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Accenture Ltd., the world’s second- largest technology-consulting firm, lowered its forecasts for 2009 profit and sales as customers curb orders in the recession. The shares fell as much as 11 percent in after-hours trading.

Sales will increase a maximum of 4 percent this year, down from a previous forecast of as much as 10 percent, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said today in a statement. Profit will be $2.60 to $2.67 a share, less than its earlier outlook for at least $2.78.

While Accenture reported an increase in outsourcing bookings in the quarter ended Feb. 28, consulting bookings dropped 17 percent from a year earlier as companies tightened their purse strings. Customers pushed back projects after the economic slump put them in a “state of shock,” Chief Executive Officer Bill Green said today in an interview.

“Most companies are just getting a grip on what their ‘09 looks like,” he said. “All that now is just settling in.”

Accenture dropped as much as $3.46 to $28.50 in extended trading after closing up 35 cents to $31.96 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has lost 2.5 percent this year.

New bookings in 2009 will be between $23 billion and $25 billion, Accenture said. It previously expected $24 billion to $27 billion.

Net income in the third quarter rose to $411.4 million, or 63 cents a share, from $406.6 million, or 64 cents, a year earlier. Sales dropped 6.6 percent to $5.66 billion, hurt partly by currency-exchange fluctuations.

New Bookings

Total new bookings in the three-month period fell 7.1 percent to $5.98 billion from the year-ago period. Consulting bookings dropped to $3.14 billion, while outsourcing contracts gained 7.2 percent to $2.84 billion, the company said.

“It was a little worse than feared,” said Jamie Friedman, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group in New York, who rates Accenture shares “neutral.” “Consulting is discretionary. It’s a great thing to have, but it’s the first thing to go when you don’t have better visibility on your own business.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Katie Hoffmann in New York at khoffmann4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 26, 2009 19:55 EDT