A clutch of leading City firms have shaken off the impact of the credit crunch to announce strong first halves for the latest financial year.
Allen & Overy (A&O) became the first firm to announce its half-year figures earlier today (2 November), charting a 16% increase in revenues for the most recent six-month period, while Ashurst saw turnover surge by 25% compared to the equivalent period last year.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer posted an 18% improvement in half-yearly revenues to reach a mark of £560m.
Norton Rose, meanwhile, saw H1 turnover rise by 23% over last year's numbers, while CMS Cameron McKenna saw fee income climb by 21% from the previous mid-year figure of £84m to rake in revenues of £103m over the last six months.
Legal Week understands that Clifford Chance is expecting to post an improvement of at least 10% on last year's H1 turnover of £580m, while Herbert Smith said turnover had risen by more than 25% over the same period last year, with the City firm's finance team and Paris office cited as standout performers.
Berwin Leighton Paisner is expecting to see fee income rise by at least 15%.
A&O reported revenues of £456m for the first six months of its financial year, up from the £392m notched up by the magic circle law firm last November.
Top 10 City outfit Ashurst, meanwhile, posted half-year turnover of £147m, up from around £117m for the same period last year.
For Ashurst, the results come on the back of a strong financial performance for 2006-2007, when the London firm reported record results for fee income and profitability. Full-year revenues jumped by 28.5% to £275m, while average profits per equity partner (PEP) soared by 36% – the fastest growth of any top 50 practice – to a new high of £956,000.
Commenting on the latest figures, Ashurst managing partner Simon Bromwich told Legal Week: “We have a two-year track record of performance now and we’re doing well right across the firm. We have been particularly pleased over the last few months with our progress in
He added: “Our September activity levels were a bit low but we were back on budget in October so I’m quietly confident for the next six months about those matters which are within the firm’s control.”
A&O said a strong first quarter, coupled with good performances across its international offices, was responsible for the increase. The half-year results put A&O on track to break the £1bn mark for annual turnover for the first time.
A&O managing partner David Morley commented: “Since mid-August we have seen a significant slowdown in some areas arising from the so-called credit crunch. While this could reduce our rate of growth in the second half if it continues, we remain cautiously optimistic.
“We can continue to thrive in these more difficult markets if we vigorously pursue the opportunities which will present themselves, manage our costs and remain flexible enough to adapt to the changing conditions.”