Strong financial performance at Clifford Chance demonstrates delivery against strategy
2 July 2012
Strong financial performance at Clifford Chance demonstrates delivery against strategy
Clifford Chance today announced its provisional results for the year ended 30 April 2012:
- Revenues amounted to £1,303 million, up 7% on the previous financial year (2011: £1,219 million)
- Partnership profit was £431 million, up 13% on the previous financial year (2011: £381 million)
- Profit per equity partner was £1.1 million, up 7% on the previous financial year (2011: £1.0 million)
- In US Dollars, these amounts are equivalent to revenues of $2,046 million, partnership profit of $677 million and profit per equity partner of $1.7 million (2011: revenues $1,914 million, partnership profit $598 million and profit per equity partner $1.6 million)
- In Euro, these amounts are equivalent to revenues of €1,616 million, partnership profit of €534 million and profit per equity partner of €1.3 million (2011: revenues €1,512 million, partnership profit €472 million and profit per equity partner €1.2 million)
Audited figures will be published in the autumn.
Managing Partner, David Childs, commented:
"We are pleased with our strong performance last year, particularly against the backdrop of continued uncertainties in the Eurozone which have affected clients and markets globally. All regions experienced growth, with our Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice and Asia Pacific operations enjoying a particularly good year.
"Client organisations are facing an extraordinary amount of change in the business and regulatory environments in which they operate. Our strategic investments are enabling us to expand and adapt our services so that we continue to provide the expertise and support that our clients need."
Highlights
As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of Clifford Chance, below are some strategic highlights from the last financial year:
- Asia Pacific - the firm experienced excellent growth across its market-leading Asia Pacific practice, with revenues increasing by 28%. There were particularly strong contributions from mainland China, Singapore and the firm's new offices in Australia which are now fully integrated with Clifford Chance's global operations.
- US – the firm saw further good progress in building its practice in New York and Washington, D.C., bringing in seven high-quality lateral hires since 1 May 2011 and working on a number of major client matters including the IPO of the Empire State Building.
- Corporate - the firm's ongoing investment in building the leading international Corporate practice, alongside our pre-eminent position in the financial services sector, and in widening our client base has continued to deliver results:
- We are ranked the #1 legal adviser by value for M&A transactions globally (Mergermarket H1 2012)
- We acted on a series of high profile mandates, such as: advising Pfizer on the sale of its nutrition business to Nestlé; advising Citigroup on the disposals of EMI's recorded music and publishing businesses; and advising RBS on the sale of its aircraft leasing business to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for $7.3 billion
- We advised over half of the companies listed on the world's leading indices (including Fortune 500, FTSE 100, CAC 40, DAX 30, Forbes Asia 50)
- Through promotions and lateral hires, the practice brought in 18 new partners during the year across all regions.
- Financial regulation - the firm reinforced its position as the leading global adviser on financial regulatory matters:
- We advised leading international industry groups such as ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association), the IIF (Institute of International Finance) and the EU-US Coalition on Financial Regulation on critical aspects of regulatory change
- We are advising leading global financial institutions as they re-shape their organisations, for instance, Barclays on the spin-out of Barclays Private Equity
- We are advising the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) during the continued uncertainties in the Eurozone
- Further investment in our capabilities, particularly in the US, including the launch of a new financial regulation group and senior partner hires to support our regulatory enforcement and global regulatory investigations group.