BrazilBearingPoint hits record revenue of €780 million
BearingPoint has seen its revenues grow by 6% in its latest financial year, hitting a record €780 million.
Kiumars Hamidian, Global Managing Partner of BearingPoint, said that he is proud of the fact that the European-origin business and technology consultancy has managed to grow for a tenth consecutive year. Since launching in its current form following a management buyout back in 2009 (BearingPoint’s roots however trace back over 100 years), the firm has added more than €330 million to its books.
“Despite difficult market conditions in certain segments and market geographies, our firm proved to be resilient and able to grow,” said Hamidian, who has been at the helm of the firm since taking over from Peter Mockler in September 2018.
Growth was realised across the firm’s main business lines, with Consulting the main contributor to total revenues. Business Services, which provides IP-driven digital assets and managed services beyond SaaS, and Solutions, which comprises BearingPoint Beyond (a digital platform and ecosystem), and BearingPoint RegTech (risk & compliance solutions) all enjoyed rapid growth over the twelve month period.
The acquisition of Prederi, a British public sector consulting firm, accelerated BearingPoint’s growth in the UK with a team of 30 professionals. The bolt-on was the firm’s second inorganic move in recent years, following the acquisition of Inpuls in Belgium late 2018. Across its footprint, the UK, Germany and France remained the firm’s largest markets, followed by among others the Nordics and Central Europe.
The €780 million in fees was generated by a team of nearly 5,000 consultants and staff, with projects for clients delivered in over 70 countries. BearingPoint itself has on the ground operations in around 25 countries, but, leveraging long standing alliances with a number of counterparts, including West Monroe Partners in North America, Abeam Consulting in Asia, and Grupo ASSA in Latin America, the consultancy can provide its clients with a global coverage.
CSR agenda
2019 also saw the firm ramp up its corporate social responsibility endeavours. Over the course of the year, BearingPoint made its business travel activities climate-neutral for all its business units globally, and signed the UN Global Compact including committing itself to the ten underlying principles.
Meanwhile, in what was the biggest CSR campaign in the firm’s history, as part of its #10DaysOfCaring campaign, BearingPoint staff participated in more than 150 different activities ranging from planting trees and cycling to work to donating blood and volunteering for local non-profits.
“We aim to become a top three player in the selected areas we decide to be active in.”
– Kiumars Hamidian
Outlook
Looking ahead, Hamidian said the consulting firm is on track for meeting the €1 billion revenue goal it set in its long-term strategy (‘Strategy 2025’). One metric he said is showing a very promising development is the project order book. “Bookings for 2019 came in at €949 million, up 15% compared to the prior year. This substantial growth in bookings points to a strong 2020.” Also, “the market conditions in most of our countries are promising.”
Meeting the target will however not be easy – it means that BearingPoint will have to outperform the market in each of the five coming years. Ultimately, Hamidian emphasised, it will all come down to the firm’s people. “That is why we put people in the centre of our core ambitions.”
“We pride ourselves on a culture of teamwork, creativity, and a can-do attitude,” Hamidian said, adding that he and the partner team draws confidence from the “extremely high team spirit” within the firm. “We have a solid foundation in place. 2020 is all about the execution of this strategy.”
