Law firm Slater & Gordon has defended its controversial Quindell acquisition in the UK as it unveiled a number of changes to appease the corporate regulator.
The company - the world's first publicly listed law firm - has come under heavily scrutiny in recent months over problems with Quindell, which it acquired for $1.3 billion in March, as well as confusion about its own accounting practices.
On Friday it committed to a series of changes to its accounting following discussions with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, including the early adoption of a new standard and providing greater clarity around the way it books revenue.
ASIC welcomed the changes but said it was continuing to probe the company's financial reports.
And chief executive Andrew Grech said despite the scandal surrounding Quindell - which is facing scrutiny from UK regulators over problems with its accounts - the company was confident about the long term future of the business.
"I think a lot of people are scratching their heads wondering why we acquired that business and paid what we paid," Mr Grech said. "We believe that that business provides us with an enormous opportunity to build a successful and sustainable business in the UK.
"Like all large, multi-faceted businesses it has its challenges, we've known that from day one, we went in with our eyes open and we're very committed to making a success of it."
The share price of the one-time market darling has been heavily beaten down in the last few months amid investor fears about the fallout from the Quindell purchase.
After hitting a high of $8.07 in April, Slater and Gordon shares fell as low as $2.65 this week.
But the company's better-than-expected full year results on Friday saw its shares jump as much as 20 per cent in early trade before giving up some of the gains.
Slater made a net profit of $82.3 million in 2014/15, up 5.6 per cent from a year ago.
Earnings were up almost 21 per cent to $121.6 million.
Slater & Gordon shares closed up 17 cents, 5.76 per cent, to $3.12.
SLATER AND GORDON LIFTS PROFIT
* Net profit up 5.6pct to $82.3m
* Revenue up 41pct to $623.4m
* Final dividend up half a cent to 5.5 cents
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