Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Deloitte’s global revenue growth rebounded in the past year despite a sluggish performance from its businesses in Europe, the Big Four firm said on Tuesday.
The consulting and accounting firm said revenue hit a record $70.5bn in the year to May, up 4.8 per cent in local currency, with growth led by its work advising companies on strategy and managing risk.
Deloitte is the first of the Big Four to report global figures this year. Its announcement comes against the backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, which has held back consulting firms in the past two years. Deloitte’s growth in the previous year to May was 3.1 per cent, its worst result in a decade and a half.
“Clients around the world are placing their trust in Deloitte to navigate an unprecedented level of complexity and change,” said Joe Ucuzoglu, the firm’s global chief executive.
The figures revealed significant disparity across regions. Growth in the Americas topped 7 per cent, while European growth was only about 1 per cent.
Earlier on Tuesday, Deloitte’s business in the UK reported its first outright decline in annual revenue in 15 years. But partners’ payouts increased as it implemented cost-cutting measures.
Globally, Deloitte’s “strategy, risk and transactions” business showed global revenue growth of 5.5 per cent in the fiscal year, narrowly beating its tax business, which grew 5.4 per cent.
The technology and transformation business, which implements big IT projects, grew 4.7 per cent. Its historic core audit business grew 3.8 per cent, it said.
The firm restructured to cut the number of reporting segments from five to four at the beginning of the year.
Deloitte businesses around the world, including the parts of the US consulting business that serve the federal government, have cut staff where demand has been weakest. But the firm’s global headcount increased, rising to 470,000 staff and partners at the end of May from 460,000 the year before.
Last week, rival IT consultant Accenture forecast slower growth in the coming 12 months, as corporate clients continue to be wary of spending on discretionary projects, although large-scale digital transformation and demand for AI work remains robust.
The Big Four have been held back in recent years by the lull in mergers and acquisition activity, although the prospect of more US interest rate cuts has prompted signs of a revival in deals.
