Revenues

As for many other businesses around the world, the 12 months to 30 June 2009 were challenging for our network with most PwC member firms facing tough economic conditions. As a result, our global revenues were up marginally at constant exchange rates, by 0.2% to US$26.2 billion. At variable rates of exchange, revenue growth was significantly impacted by the strengthening of the US dollar; as a result revenues fell by 7.1%.

Figure 1
Figure 1

Although these results are not as good as we would have liked and certainly not as strong as we have seen in recent years, they are reasonable in the current difficult economic climate, reflecting our strong mix of business and PwC’s position as the premium brand in many of our markets.

Assurance, which remains the centrepiece of our business and our brand-defining service, continued to grow despite the difficult economic conditions, reflecting both the well-established nature of this business and its continued focus on improved customer service and very competitive pricing. In FY 2009 our Assurance practice earned revenues of US$13.1 billion, up 2%.

Tax revenues held steady at US$6.9 billion, the lack of growth reflecting the decline in corporate deals and restructuring.

Figure 2
Figure 2

Given the cyclical nature of its business, our Advisory service was the hardest hit by the recession. However, in the circumstances, the revenues continued to hold up well at 6.1 billion USD, down by 2.9%. This fall in revenues was driven by a downturn in deals and initial public offerings. This was offset somewhat by a boost in restructuring work. Looking ahead, the acquisition in 2009 of the BearingPoint advisory businesses in the US and Japan will help to position our Advisory practice very well for future growth.

In some regions around the world, PwC member firms were less affected by the global economic downturn than others. There were continuing strong results from South and Central America, which saw revenues increase by 13.3%, while the Middle East and Africa enjoyed revenue growth of 9.1%. Asia saw a modest increase in revenue growth of 5.4%, lower growth than last year, but still a creditable performance in the current climate and a continuing indication of the growing contribution that PwC’s member firms in Asia will make to the PwC network.

Figure 3
Figure 3

Our member firms in Central and Eastern Europe struggled this year, with revenues down by 3.8%, while our member firms in North America saw revenues fall by 1.2%. PwC member firms in Western Europe also had a difficult time this year, with revenues down by 0.8%.

Revenue growth was high in a number of our member firms around the world, with particularly good results from some key markets such as Japan (11.8%), Spain (6.4%), Sweden (6.4%) and Canada (4.4%).

By delivering our services through a number of industry sectors, our clients benefit from our latest thinking, research and expertise. Looking at our revenues on an industry basis, there were particularly good results from colleagues working with clients in the government, energy and banking and capital markets sectors.

Figure 4
Figure 4