DWF, the global legal business, has announced profit before tax is up 40% to £18.7m, according to its half-year results for the period ended 31 October 2021.
The firm also reported a net revenue increase of just over 3% to £173.3m from £167.6 from HY21.
According to DWF, the differentiated client proposition of providing integrated legal and business services through the group’s three divisions of Legal Advisory, Connected Services and Mindcrest continues to generate new business.
This Integrated Legal Management approach of providing services from two or more divisions has “gained” further traction with a year-on-year increase in both the number of clients and percentage of fees generated from such clients.
However, net debt of £77.2m is higher than the previous year due to the “repayment” of Covid deferrals, settlement of “deferred consideration” and a “one-off” outflow for the restructuring of Australia.
The firm said its “strong” trading in HY22 is expected to continue in the second half of FY22 as the legal sector “enjoys” sustained demand for services. The group remains on track to deliver in line with medium term guidance.
Sir Nigel Knowles, CEO, said: “We are delighted with our performance for the first half of FY22. We have continued to see strong revenue growth on a like-for-like basis, after the decisive action taken in the prior year to exit or slim down a number of businesses.
“We have seen an improvement in our gross margin and a reduction in our overheads relative to revenue. This has led to a compelling step-change in profitability with our adjusted pre-tax profit increasing by 40%. Our client proposition of providing integrated legal and business services is gaining traction and leading to a strong pipeline of instructions.”
