Commercial firms’ financial results indicate growth in spite of falling profits
A pattern of profit and loss in the downturn is emerging as several top commercial firms release their financial results for the last year. Profits per equity partner fell across the board, and more than halved at one firm.
Linklaters marginally increased its turnover from £1.293bn to £1.298bn, slightly ahead of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which recorded a turnover of £1.287bn.
However, Linklaters’ profits per partner dropped 9.5% from £1.44m in 2007/08 to £1.3m, while Freshfields’ profits per partner remained roughly the same at £1.44m.
Clifford Chance fared worse, with profits per equity partner dropping 37% from £1.156m to £733,000. Its turnover fell 5% from £1.329m to £1.262m.
Hill Dickinson LLP reported fee income of £82m for the 2008/2009 financial year, a rise of 12% from last year’s revenue of £73.05m. The firm reported growth across all specialist practice groups apart from commercial property, while its employment practice rose 39% on last year’s figures.
Profits per equity partner fell 6% to £294,000. Peter Jackson, managing partner, said it had “undoubtedly been a year of difficult economic trading conditions” but that the firm had seen “continued growth across most practice areas, some of which have seen record results”.
Profits per partner fell 30% at Taylor Wessing’s UK operations, from £613,400 during 2007-08 to £436,000 for the last financial year, and 13.7% globally. UK revenues fell 5.7%, taking fee income down to £92.6m from the £98.2m posted during the 2007/08 year.
Shoosmiths saw profits per equity partner drop by 54% to £150,000, and revenue fall marginally from £103.4m to £99m. However its employment, litigation, debt recovery and insolvency departments have increased their fee income.
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