Further, the owner of Shine Lawyers reported earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at $45 million, a decrease of 26.7 per cent from the FY22–23 figure of $61.4 million.

Its FY22–23 figures were already much lower than FY21–22, with the firm last year reporting an 89.4 per cent hit to its net profit after tax.

In half-year figures for the six months ending December 2023, Shine reported a 98 per cent drop in net profit after tax to $0.18 million.

However, its entire FY23–24 net profit after tax of $6 million was an increase from the $3.3 million in FY22–23. Its gross operating cash flow also came in at $51.8 million, the highest it has reported since 2021.

Commenting on the figures, managing director and CEO Simon Morrison said the company undertook a “strategic reshape” in 2024 following the “disappointing financial results” in FY22–23.

“We made the decision to divest non-core work types in order to focus on our personal injuries and class action practices.

“We went back to basics in re-evaluating our organisational structure, company overheads and cash flow, taking a number of difficult decisions to reset the business,” Morrison said.

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This included ditching employment and travel law, its estate and landholder litigation, and its Queensland family law practice.

While it received strong cash flow from the settlement of several class actions, Shine Lawyers reversed revenue meant it did not recover all its fees, which negatively affected the FY23–24 total figure.

As for its dividends, the directors declared a final figure of 4¢ per share. When added to the 1.5 cents per share unfranked interim dividend declared in February 2024, it totals 5.5¢ per share.

Class actions pivotal to FY23–24 and FY24–25

In the ASX statement, Shine Justice said its firm resolved more than 5,000 cases and secured damages in excess of $810 million.

The total class action settlements approved by the court came to $170.7 million during the 2024 financial year and include action against the Commonwealth Department of Defence for contamination from the use of firefighting foam, including in Wreck Bay.

Its work in securing compensation claims for workers suffering from silicosis and its “tireless lobbying” saw Australia become the first country to announce a ban on engineered stone in July 2024.

Looking to the next financial year, Shine said it will rely on the cost reduction program from the 2024 financial year, including the reduction in overhead costs and rightsizing legal teams.

Cases for the 12 months include action against KFC, Rest Superannuation, Aussie Home Loans, and Toyota.

In connection with a US firm, Shine has also investigated whether companies manufacturing and selling proton pump inhibitors has allegedly failed to inform Australian consumers about risk.

“Shine Justice’s business remains strong, with a committed and talented team and the right strategy to deliver improving results and grow earnings in new and exciting markets,” Morrison said.

“Our pipeline of cases is strong. We are targeting a further improvement in cash generation as major cases are conducted and as we implement improvements in our systems and processes for case execution and cash collection.”