Profits at Allen & Overy rose 2.2% to £496.7m on flat turnover last year, the firm revealed today in the first announcement of 2012-13 results from the magic circle.

Revenue grew just 0.6% to £1.19bn, with profit per equity partner remaining £1.1m for the year ending 30 April.

Allen & Overy said the results reflect a year of consolidation against a backdrop of challenging market conditions. Wim Dejonghe, global managing partner, said: ‘While 2013 has been flat overall, there was a noticeable improvement in the fourth quarter and early signs for this year continue to be encouraging.’

It noted strong performance in emerging markets in central and eastern Europe, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets and Morocco. Mature markets such as Germany, Japan, London and the Middle East were also strong, the firm said.

The firm opened new offices in Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi last year, bringing its global network to 42 offices.

Global staff costs dropped by £8.2m to £438.6m, although the firm promoted 19 lawyers to partner and hired 18 further partners in 2012-13, making a total of 525.