Exclusive: Stephenson Harwood withholds results

Stephenson Harwood has declined to publish its half-year results, with insiders claiming that profits have fallen significantly.

The firm made a very big deal of its superb figures last June when profits soared by 40% and revenue by 20%. It was reported this week that its highest paid partner pulled in £1.3m last year, up 30% on the previous year. That's an awful lot of money for a firm that generally only hits the headlines for having pissed-up trainees and horny partners.

So why the reticence in publishing its half-year results, which should have been released last November? An insider at the firm tells RoF that last year's figures included income from a couple of significant matters that would ordinarily have been held over to the following year. He claims partners decided to account for them early in order to release bumper drawings, but now there's much less left in the kitty for 2015/16.

Stephenson Harwood yesterday

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the firm said "we've decided not to release half year figures. However, our half year revenue figure is higher than last year's." She wouldn't comment on why the figures had not been released, nor on the firm's profits.

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Comments

"However, our half year revenue figure is higher than last year's."

But apparently an anonymous source trumps this?

C'mon ROF...

Didn't they say at the time that profits would be lower for this exact reason?

But apparently "anonymous user at 11.08" doesn't know the difference between revenue and profit

Not suprised, they have the most awful GR team. Must be budgeting a lot this year ...

TKB anyone??

Anon at 12:44 (08/01/2016) - care to elaborate?

When they announced results last time, they said they had a couple of very large matters that had pushed up their results. It's not an accurate reflection to suggest this is something they are now just admitting. And FYI - I don't work for SH or have any connection to them.

Interesting comments. FYI Anon @ 08/01 11:16, there is a point in time in each financial year from which, actually, revenue EQUALS profit. Costs are paid, so every single additional penny goes to profit. Most firms look at results at the end of each year, and if the spike in profit is a little extraordinary (which can be the product of a single litigation matter which bills towards the end of the year), put some of the profit into "reserves". And then they bring it out in a future year and say oh, look, eg 2009, a lot of firms are doing really badly but we're having a great financial crisis. That's why a firm's announced results each year are meaningless. The other point is that CURRENT partners want to be paid out for profit earned during the year in which they are partners. If I'm retiring next year, I want every single penny to which I am entitled. Why should those dastardly lateral hires joining next year get some of the profit I earned for the firm THIS year. SH has always been very conservative, so there must have been a change at management level somewhere so that partners are now requiring all profit "earned" during any particular year to be released to current partners. And that's the other point. If a firm accounts on an accruals basis, the profit, or lack of, is only realized when clients actually pay their bills. So after all of that, it might be FUTURE partners who bear the COST of FORMER partners having taken PROFIT out on an accruals basis that actually, was not even REVENUE. It's all smoke and mirrors but the legal press never questions the press releases (or, in the case of SH for the half year results, the complete absence thereof).