NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based Accenture Ltd., the world's second- largest technology-consulting firm, reported a 36-percent increase in third-quarter profit after taking on more outsourcing jobs for business customers.

Net income climbed to $469.1 million, or 74 cents a share, from $345.4 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier, Accenture said yesterday in a Business Wire statement. That beat the 70-cent average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue increased 19 percent to $6.59 billion in the period ended May 31.

Accenture is winning orders as the slowing US economy forces clients to rein in their technology budgets and farm out jobs. The company relies on workers in India and other lower-cost countries to handle the work. Accenture signed contracts last quarter with Constellation Energy Group Inc., Universal Music Group and New York City's information-technology department.

"An increasingly cautious near-term spending environment will continue to benefit Accenture," Moshe Katri, an analyst with Cowen & Co. in New York, said in a report this week. He recommends buying the shares. "Accenture continues to retain top spots in client additions."

Accenture, run by chief executive officer William Green, fell 52 cents to $38.85 at 4 p.m. on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have gained 7.8 percent this year.

Analysts had estimated third-quarter sales of $5.94 billion, according to the Bloomberg survey.

The US gross domestic product may increase 0.45 percent in the second calendar quarter, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That's down from one percent in the first quarter and 0.6 percent in the fourth.