(Bloomberg) -- Houlihan Lokey Inc. posted its highest fourth-quarter revenues on record as it benefited from a boost in its restructuring businesses — even as it sounded a note of caution about the rebound in M&A. 

The Los Angeles-headquartered investment bank, known for its prolific activity advising on mid-market deals, posted $520.5 million in revenue, surpassing analysts estimates.

“We enter fiscal 2025 with good momentum in our business and the most talented work force in the firm’s history, however, we are realistic about the pace of recovery in this sluggish M&A environment,” Chief Executive Officer Scott Beiser said in a statement.

The bump in results across both its restructuring and mergers and acquisitions operations reflects a trend across boutique investment banks, where the prospect that interest rates remain higher has coaxed some companies back to dealmaking, while simultaneously pressuring other over-levered firms to restructure their debt.

Restructuring revenues represented the largest jump across its businesses. The firm posted $155.4 million in the three months through March, up from $120.4 million in the same period the year before. It’s a similar trend at rivals like PJT Partners Inc., which posted strong results driven by advising companies on their debt troubles.

So far this year, Houlihan Lokey is fifth on Bloomberg’s rankings of advisers by number of deals announced. Its shares are up nearly 11% in the same period.

The firm also launched a sovereign advisory practice last month to advise governments on debt challenges. Earlier Wednesday, it announced the hire of Scott Kirkby, whose previous roles included head of financial institutions M&A for the Americas at Credit Suisse.

The earnings also cap the last full financial year for Beiser as chief executive of Houlihan Lokey. Scott Adelson, co-president and co-head of corporate finance, will become CEO in June after more than three decades at the firm. 

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