Shares in challenger legal services firm Keystone Law (KEYS:AIM) gained 1.7% to 442p after it posted a rise in first half revenues and restarted dividend payments.
The company’s operational and financial structure meant that it was in a stronger position than most traditional law firms to adapt to the challenges brought by the pandemic, with most principals and their support staff already working remotely.
Despite a 30% fall in new instructions during the first six weeks of lockdown, the firm maintained 100% service with revenues climbing 6.5% to £24.5 million in the six months to the end of July.
‘While all areas of the business were affected, the impact wasn’t uniform with areas such as property, family and private client being most affected whilst litigation held up well’, said chief executive James Knight.
‘As time has progressed and we have seen a gradual opening up of society and the economy, new instructions in most practice areas have slowly recovered to almost pre-Covid levels, although as with the decline certain areas still lag behind others.’
Lawyer recruitment remained strong, although the recruitment process took longer than normal in the early stages of the pandemic. The number of qualified new applicants rose to 145 against 114 last year, while the number of principals who accepted offers in the period rose from 36 to 41.
In a sign of confidence, the board has decided to restart dividends beginning with two interim payments of 3.3p per share. ‘We believe that in paying a second interim dividend at this level we are striking a reasonable balance between returning value to shareholders and ensuing that the cash position is sufficiently robust to manage any further Covid effects in the second half of the year’, added Knight.
