BearingPoint joins consulting’s illustrious €1 billion club

Another year of fast growth has seen BearingPoint hit a major milestone in its history, with the firm now a member of the consulting industry’s illustrious €1 billion club.

Following two bumper years of 24% and 18% growth, BearingPoint has swelled its revenues by over €300 million to hit revenues of €1.017 billion. The firm’s headcount jumped by 15% to break through the barrier of 6,000 staff.

“We are delighted to have reached our ambition of €1 billion in revenue, and notably, we did it sustainably and with a healthy growth position,” said Kiumars Hamidian, Managing Partner of BearingPoint.

BearingPoint’s performance in 2023 was driven by headline growth in the United States, where revenue jumped by 34%, and China, where the firm has two offices and builds on a longstanding partnership with Asia-focused counterpart ABeam Consulting.

The firm’s powerhouse market, Europe, however provided the largest contribution to total fee income. BearingPoint has 30+ offices in 19 countries in Europe, with its largest practices in Germany, France and Ireland all enjoying growth.

Across its footprint, BearingPoint delivered more than 1,800 projects in 32 countries. “I would like to thank all our amazing people and clients who made our success possible,” said Hamidian, who has been in office since 2018 and is only the second person in the top seat since the firm’s iconic management buyout in 2009.

From a service line perspective, all three lines of business – Consulting, Products, and Capital – ramped up their revenues.

Growth was aided by several acquisitions in the 2023 financial year, completed to enhance and strengthen the portfolio, particularly in the areas of sustainability (Korkia), Salesforce expertise (Smplicity), and asset-backed securities (TXS Securitization). The firm also invested significantly in Arcwide, a joint venture it launched in 2022 with IFS.

2024 and beyond

Having now achieved its long-aspired target (BearingPoint has been openly talking about its €1 billion goal back since 2016), Hamidian said the firm is not planning to take its foot off the throttle, even though parts of the consulting market have slowed down in recent months.

At a time when a number of large rivals including the Big Four are been forced to let people go to maintain profitability amid dropping utilization rates, Hamidian said BearingPoint “continues to see increasing demand for our services, especially our transformation programs and IP-driven digital assets.”

“In 2024 we want to outperform the market again and accelerate our strategy execution further, and are aiming for double-digit organic revenue growth. We plan to hire more than 1,600 people this year.”

“In addition, we will continue our path of strategic acquisitions.”

“As we look towards the future, BearingPoint is in an excellent position to grow and expand further. We are faithful to our values, empower people to succeed, and create lasting outcomes for our clients, society, and the planet.”