Booz Allen Hamilton expects growth to accelerate in the second half of its fiscal year, driven by continued demand for national-security technologies and easing pressure in its civil business.

The trends gave the company confidence to raise its full-year earnings outlook after reporting a higher profit in the latest quarter, even as revenue declined due to continued weakness in its civil and commercial business.

Booz Allen is currently operating in a split market, Chief Operating Officer Kristine Martin Anderson said Friday on a call with analysts.

Revenue from Booz Allen's national-security business grew 0.6% from a year earlier, reflecting what the company called strong demand that has prompted it to ramp up work on newly awarded contracts and scale its cyber and defense-technology products.

The company has a significant backlog of funded work to execute in the business, and it has aggressively increased hiring to support that demand, Chief Financial Officer Troy Lahr said.

Meanwhile, revenue from the company's civil business fell 15% from a year earlier, as government contracts have generally become smaller in size and scope, and fewer new programs have started.

Still, management sees signs of improvement.

"Our focus is on rebuilding the portfolio and gaining momentum," Anderson said, noting that the company expects the civil business's year-over-year decline to moderate in the second half of the fiscal year.

Lahr added that pressure in the business is easing, with revenue expected to be flat to slightly lower sequentially in both the third and fourth quarters.

Shares, which initially climbed in premarket trading, were recently down 4.5% at $75. The stock has lost nearly 12% of its value year to date.

The challenges in Booz Allen's civil business come amid broader uncertainty surrounding federal spending. The Trump administration has cut spending on federal contracts and pushed consulting companies, including Booz Allen, to justify their work and propose substantial cost savings.

In its fiscal second quarter, Booz Allen reported a profit of $181 million, or $1.50 a share, up from $175 million, or $1.42 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, quarterly earnings came in at $1.76 a share, ahead of the $1.48 a share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell 3.9% to $2.78 billion, just below Wall Street models for $2.81 billion. Lahr attributed the decline largely to an 11% drop in billable expenses.

Looking ahead, Booz Allen now expects adjusted earnings of $6.50 to $6.70 a share for fiscal 2027, up from a prior forecast of $6 to $6.35 a share. It also narrowed its revenue outlook to between $11.3 billion and $11.6 billion.

Analysts are looking for adjusted earnings of $6.34 a share on revenue of $11.42 billion.