PwC post profit increase amid ‘uncertain’ future

PROFESSIONAL service firm PwC has posted increased annual profits and turnover for its UK operations.

PwC reported turnover growth of 6% to £2.46bn for the year ended June 30.
Total profit for the financial year increased by £14m to £656m while average profit per partner was £763,000, an increase of 0.5%.

PwC provides assurance, tax and advisory services and employs more than 162,000 people in 154 countries.

UK chairman and senior partner Ian Powell said the firm’s performance was a strong one in a “period of volatile financial markets, fragile economic confidence and the tightening of public expenditure”.

“Competition in our markets remains fierce and we recognise that we need to continue to demonstrate to our clients that we can deliver the quality and value they demand both here in the UK and internationally,” he added.

Mark Smith, regional chairman at PwC in the Midlands, said: “This is is a positive set of results despite the challenging economic times and they very much reflect a strong trading performance here in the Midlands. 

“Over the past year, the impact of the global debt crisis and the spending cuts has had a significant impact on public and private sector organisations in the region and specialist services in areas like business recovery, consultancy and tax have been in high demand.

“We continue to strengthen our business locally particularly by investing in our people. We have recently promoted three new partners and eight new directors in the Midlands and we are looking forward to welcoming 83 graduates later this month.”

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com, Roger Marsh, a senior partner at PwC in Leeds, said there were brighter prospects over the medium and long-term.

“There’s plenty of reasons for optimism and realistic grounds for confidence but we’re all a little bit ‘watch this space’ with the short-term picture,” he said.

“We believe the medium and longer-term outlooks will continue to benefit the economy and GDP of the region.”

Mr Marsh said the 2012/13 financial year had started positively despite ongoing issues in the eurozone and global financial markets being hit.

Looking ahead, he said there were opportunities for the firm in the northern region in financial services and within the public sector in areas including education and health.