BRODIES has shrugged off the troubles in the Scottish legal sector to post a 7.5% hike in annual revenue to a record £46.01 million.

The law firm – which offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Brussels – said operating profits before partner distribution were up from £17.6m to £19.3m during the 12 months to the end of April this year.

All practice areas were broadly up but corporate and finance deals in the technology, food and drink, projects, energy and infrastructure sectors were highlighted as being strong contributors to the results.

During the year, Brodies advised Endeavour Energy UK on the $330 million deal to purchase North Sea assets from ConocoPhillips and Kana Software on its acquisition of the Ciboodle group of software companies from Sword Group.

The banking team were active in several refinancing and restructuring actions while property lawyers were busy on investment, retail and rural transactions with better signs from the residential and commercial development property sectors.

The private client, employment and pensions teams were all said to have performed solidly over the 12 months.

The Aberdeen office was a major driver with staff numbers up from 34 to 46, including six new lawyers, and growth there has continued since the close of the financial year.

The firm said it had continued to invest in additional people, with total staff numbers up from 513 to 534 and fee earners increasing from 318 to 326.

Although six partners joined in the year, net partner numbers increased from 74 to 75 as some other partners left.

The additional people in the business saw operating expenses grow 6.4% to £26.8m but the firm remains debt-free, with its cash balance standing at more than £6m.

The past 18 months have seen several Scottish law firms enter into merger partnerships with many famous names disappearing into larger English competitors, such as when McGrigors merged with Pinsent Masons.

Alongside that, Semple Fraser collapsed after running into financial problems while global giant DLA Piper closed its Glasgow office.

In recent months, both DWF Biggart Baillie and Maclay Murray & Spens have announced redundancy programmes in their Scottish offices as firms continue to adapt to a changed corporate landscape.

Long-serving managing partner Bill Drummond said Brodies remained "resolute" even amid the difficulties in the wider market. He said: "The year just passed witnessed sweeping changes in the legal market in Scotland – be it mergers, takeovers or firms ceasing to trade.

"Change will continue and will present challenges and, more importantly, opportunities for us and our clients."

The latest financial results mean that in the past 10 years, Brodies has increased its turnover by 216%.

Mr Drummond, who has been in charge throughout that period having first been elected by his peers in 1998, signalled that the firm hopes to continue attracting new business and taking away market share from its rivals.

He also confirmed Brodies intends to keep its place as an independent Scottish firm.

Mr Drummond, also chairman of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, said: "We hope to continue to deliver the sustained, organic growth we have seen over a decade and more.

"The targeted investment that is being made across the business – in people and infrastructure – positions us well to benefit from stabilising market conditions and our strong balance sheet means that Brodies' management team can continue to seek suitable investment opportunities to further enhance the service we deliver to our clients."

Brodies styles itself as the biggest all-Scotland law firm, as most other competitors with headquarters in Scotland have operations in London and the rest of the UK.