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The Big Four firm’s revenue, which includes its Middle East operations, grew by just 0.4% to £6.35 billion, compared to growth rates of between 9% and 16% in the preceding years.

Despite the stagnant top line, consolidated profits rose to £1.37bn from £1.14bn last year, a result the firm attributed to “considered cost management” and “operational transformation”. This strategy included the “tough decision to reduce roles”, with total staff numbers falling from 36,000 to approximately 33,700 over the year. The average distributable profit for its almost 1,000 UK partners remained relatively unchanged at £865,000, compared to £862,000 last year and down from a record high of £920,000 in 2022.

The slowdown reflects a turbulent period for the professional services sector, which is contending with a prolonged market downturn affecting consulting projects most acutely. This was evident in PwC’s results, with its consulting and risk advisory units both contracting by about 3%. In contrast, the tax practice was the strongest performer with 6% growth, while the deals and audit divisions grew by 3.7% and 0.3% respectively.

A significant factor in the flattened growth was the performance of the firm’s large Middle East practice, where revenue growth plummeted to 0.4% from 26% the previous year. This was largely due to a slowdown in lucrative Saudi Arabian consulting projects.

The results come a year into the tenure of new Senior Partner, Marco Amitrano, who has focused on protecting profitability. He has overseen the biggest overhaul of the firm’s UK business in years, creating a standalone technology and artificial intelligence unit, Tech Catalyst, and reorganising other service lines.

Mr Amitrano said the firm had “shown resilience” against a “challenging macro backdrop”. He added, “While headwinds remain, improving market sentiment is creating a stronger pipeline across our multidisciplinary portfolio. Helping clients navigate uncertainty, bolster their stability and build for the future is central to our strategy.”

The firm’s strongest performing industry segments were Industrial Manufacturing & Services and Financial Services, which delivered growth of 11% and 6% respectively.