Keystone Law Group PLC - London-headquartered law firm - For six months ended July 31, posts pretax profit of GBP1.9 million, down 21% year-on-year from GBP2.4 million. This is despite a 6.5% rise in revenue to GBP24.5 million from GBP23 million. Administrative expenses rise to GBP3.8 million from GBP3.5 million.
While the year started well, says the Covid-19 pandemic significantly hurt demand, with the number of new instructions falling by around 30% during the first six weeks of the lockdown. Following the easing of restrictions, new instructions in most practice areas have slowly recovered almost to pre-Covid-19 levels, Keystone says.
Restarts previously halted dividends with two interim payouts of 3.3 pence each.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive James Knight says: "In light of the circumstances, the board is pleased with the performance of the group in the first half of this year and whilst there remains uncertainty as to what the impact of Covid-19 may be in the second half, it is confident that Keystone remains in a strong position to deal with any challenges and continue to build a strong platform for future growth."
Cash as at July end is GBP6.9 million.
Current stock price: 460.0p
Year-to-date change: down 14%
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
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