International firm Ashurst posted a fall in partner profits for the second year in a row in 2015/16, amid a slowdown in commodity sectors and 'geopolitical uncertainty'.

Profit per equity partner dropped by 19% to £603,000 for the year ending 30 April 2016, on the back of a 5% fall in revenue to £505m.

Paul Jenkins, Ashurst’s global managing partner, said that the results were not what he wanted, adding that the bottom line was affected in part by the investment the firm made to drive greater efficiency and innovation. 

He said: ‘Market conditions also remained more challenging than we anticipated. The global slowdown in the oil and gas and the mining sectors, to which we have considerable exposure, had a notable impact, as did ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and slowdown in China.’

He said that a stronger pound against the currencies that are a significant part of its business had reduced revenue by 5%.

Jenkins added: ‘We have however, delivered growth in Asia and continental Europe, most notably in Hong Kong and Paris. We have increased revenue in most of the financial services sectors within which we operate, normally funds. The built environment sector has also performed well.’

He hoped that a new leadership team, efficiency and innovation would deliver a stronger performance next year.