Accenture PLC said Thursday that its net income rose a better-than-expected 11 percent in its fiscal third quarter, as more companies returned to spending on consulting and outsourcing services.

However, the company issued a dimmer forecast for the current period.

For the three months ended May 31, the company earned $490.6 million, or 73 cents per share. That compared with $444 million, or 68 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue rose to $5.57 billion from $5.15 billion in the same quarter of 2009, with gains seen across all regions and particularly in its financial services group.

The company said consulting revenue rose 9 percent to $3.22 billion, while revenue from outsourcing climbed 7 percent to $2.35 billion. New bookings for the quarter totaled $6.43 billion, with consulting contracts accounting for $3.18 billion and outsourcing for $3.25 billion.

That brings total year-to-date new bookings to $18.5 billion, and puts Accenture on track to deliver full-year bookings toward the middle of its previously guided range of $23 billion to $26 billion.

The earnings and revenue results beat analysts' average estimate for earnings of 69 cents per share on revenue of $5.46 billion. The news sent Accenture's shares up 85 cents to $38.40 in after-hours trading, having closed the regular session down 62 cents at $37.55.

The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $5.15 billion to $5.35 billion — slightly below analysts' $5.36 billion forecast — partly due to unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations. Accenture now expects its full-year profit to come in toward the lower half of its previously forecast range of $2.61 to $2.69 per share.