Tough 2023 for the Nordic Consulting Industry

A summary of 2023 reveals that it has undoubtedly been both a challenging year and a difficult final quarter for the Swedish and Finnish consultancies. However, the market is highly diversified. Sectors such as energy, automotive, life sciences, defense, and cybersecurity continue to show very strong demand. In contrast, the real estate, e-commerce, telecom, and public sectors have faced significant challenges.

Consulting broker Ework reports a 14 percent decrease in requests compared to last year, an improvement over the third quarter whenrequests fell by 21 percent.

Growth among consulting firms was modest in Q4, with a quarter of the companies experiencing a decrease in revenue. The average growth rate for the fourth quarter was just 3.1 percent, down from 15.3 percent in 2022, mainly due to lower demand in several industries and adjustments in employee numbers. Moreover, acquisition activity has been significantly lower than before.

Addnode, Sweco, and Rejlers saw the most growth during the quarter, each having acquired larger companies over the year.

After a strong first half, most consulting firms posted decent growth figures for the year, averaging 8.7 percent. Gofore, Addnode, and CombinedX displayed the highest growth rates for the year.

Lower margins and fewer employees

In terms of profit margins, two-thirds of the companies had lower operating margins than last year, albeit affected by fewer working days. Many companies heavily impacted by the economic downturn quickly implemented cost savings and reduced expenses. Exsitec, Gofore, and Softronic had the highest margins during the quarter.

For the entire year, two-thirds of the consulting firms also experienced lower margins, with a fifth of the companies operating at a loss. Exsitec, Softronic, and Gofore showed the best margins over the year.

Two out of three consulting firms had fewer employees in the last quarter compared to the previous one. Combitech, Prevas, and CAG saw the most significant increase in staff. For the full year, about half of the companies increased their number of employees while the other half decreased. Rejlers, Gofore, and Addnode had the most significant increases.