(Sharecast News) - Challenger law firm Keystone reported revenue growth of 8.1% to £75.3m in its final results on Monday, up from £69.6m in the prior year.
The AIM-traded firm said revenue per principal increased 4.1% over the 12 months ended 31 January, to £0.19m, while pre-tax profit was £8.4m, in line with the prior year.
Adjusted pre-tax profit increased 6.3% to £9.2m, and adjusted basic earnings per share were ahead 2.5% at 24.2p.
The company also reported strong operating cash conversion of 96.5%, with cash generated from operations of £9.3m, down slightly from £10m in the previous year.
Keystone said it remained debt-free.
The board proposed a final ordinary dividend of 10.9p for the year, bringing the total ordinary dividend to 16.1p per share, compared to 15.7p year-on-year.
Keystone said it had made a positive start to the current financial year, with levels of client demand said to be strong.
However, it noted that conditions in the recruitment market were starting to change, with demand for lawyers falling from the exceptional levels experienced in recent years.
Keystone said it was still confident that the 2024 fiscal period would be another positive year.
"Keystone has delivered another strong financial performance; growing revenue, increasing underlying profits and generating strong cash flow," said chief executive officer James Knight.
"Our unique business model continues to appeal to the high-calibre candidates we seek to recruit and, in what has been a highly competitive recruitment market, we have continued to grow our lawyer base."
Knight said the new financial year had started well.
"We have started to see demand for recruitment of lawyers across the industry cooling slightly from exceptional levels, and I am confident that as the year progresses, we will see traditional push factors generating increased candidate flow which will further support our growth."
At 1208 BST, shares in Keystone Law Group were down 1.71% at 460p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Keystone Law G. (KEYS)