Growth in Marsh boosts Q1 results in parent

Marsh & McLennan Companies posted solid growth in the first quarter of 2014 through a mixture of incremental growth across the business, including in reinsurance brokerage unit Guy Carpenter, and double digit growth in some of its emerging markets units in broker Marsh.

The company’s consolidated revenue was $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 4 percent on both a reported and underlying basis, compared with the first quarter of 2013. It made a net profit of $443 million compared with $413 million a year earlier and an operating profit of $673 million compared with $607 million in the prior year.

Its revenue generated by risk and insurance services was $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 4 percent, or 3 percent on an underlying basis. Operating income rose 5 percent to $493 million, compared with $468 million in the prior year.

Broker Marsh's revenue in the first quarter of 2014 was $1.5 billion, an increase of 5 percent, or 4 percent on an underlying basis. International operations produced underlying revenue growth of 4 percent, reflecting growth of 11 percent in Latin America; 9 percent in Asia Pacific; and 2 percent in EMEA. In the US/Canada division, underlying revenue was up 2 percent. Guy Carpenter's revenue was $381 million, an increase of 2 percent from the prior year, or flat on an underlying basis.

President and chief executive officer Dan Glaser said: "We produced double-digit earnings growth and meaningful margin expansion in the first quarter, with adjusted earnings per share rising 11 percent to $.81. This represents a strong start to 2014 and continues the excellent momentum we have achieved over the past several years. On a consolidated basis, underlying revenue growth was 4 percent, adjusted operating income rose 11 percent, and the adjusted margin increased 120 basis points to 20.9 percent, reflecting continued margin expansion in both the risk and insurance services and consulting segments.”