Vioxx loss hits Slater & Gordon profit

24 Aug 2012, 3:22 pm   -   Source: AAP

Legal firm Slater & Gordon has posted an 11 per cent fall in its full year profit because of a loss in a major class action.

Legal firm Slater & Gordon's full year profit has fallen by 11 per cent because of its loss in the Vioxx class action.

The company made a net profit of $25 million in the year to June 30, down from $27.9 million in the previous year.

Included in the result was a $10.5 million non-cash write-down on its work in the Vioxx class action, which was lost on appeal and for which leave to appeal to the High Court was refused.

Vioxx had been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, and Slater & Gordon's class litigation involved the Australian subsidiary of global pharmaceutical company Merck.

In October 2011, the full federal court overturned an earlier decision awarding damages to the class action's lead plaintiff.

In May 2012, the High Court declined to grant Slater & Gordon's client leave to appeal the decision.

Revenue in the year to June 30 rose by 19 per cent from the previous year, to $218 million, due to recent acquisitions in the United Kingdom and the expansion of the company's conveyancing and family law practices in Australia.

Managing director Andrew Grech said revenue would continue to grow in the 2012/13 financial year to $290 million.

"The potential to exploit the Slater & Gordon brand in markets outside personal injuries is still largely untapped," he said in a statement on Friday.

"We are encouraged by the progress we've made to date in conveyancing and family law."

Slater & Gordon shares were up three cents to $1.95 at 1139 AEST.

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