HAMILTON, Bermuda (Bloomberg) ? Accenture Ltd., the world?s second- largest consultant, said fourth-quarter profit rose 25 percent as sales increased and the company kept a lid on costs. Accenture also declared its first annual dividend of 30 cents a share.

Net income rose to $229.1 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter ended August 31 from $183 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 15 percent, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said yesterday in a statement distributed by Business Wire. Profit beat the 36-cent average estimate of 22 analysts in a Thomson Financial survey.

Demand for higher-margin consulting work rose, lifting Accenture?s profit. The company manages customers? computer networks and human resources under long-term contracts, and some are becoming more profitable as they enter their later years and require less investment. Accenture is also trimming selling costs, analyst Cindy Shaw said.

?They are getting more cost-effective,? said Shaw, a Moors & Cabot analyst in San Francisco, who rates Accenture ?buy?. ?They had some staffing inefficiencies as demand picked up and they put that behind them.?

Sales before client reimbursements for contract costs increased to $3.92 billion from $3.42 billion a year earlier, the company said. Analysts expected sales of $3.85 billion, the average of 16 estimates.

Shares of Accenture rose 30 cents to $25.25 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have declined 6.5 percent this year. Accenture was formerly Andersen Consulting.

Accenture is part of a group including International Business Machines Corp., the world?s biggest consultant, that won a $2.2 billion five-year contract to develop software and manage computers for ABN Amro Holdings NV.

The agreement was announced on September 1. The company has unsuccessfully lobbied US lawmakers for an exemption from tax penalties on companies that incorporate in havens such as Bermuda.