Marsh & McLennan Q3 Profit Up 17%, Results Beat View

(RTTNews) - Insurance brokerage Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. (MMC) on Tuesday reported a 17 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting higher revenues and improved operating margins. Both adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations.

Dan Glaser, President and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies said, "The Company delivered its thirteenth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share. This strong performance reflects revenue growth of 7% and underlying revenue growth of 5%, with all operating companies contributing."

New York-based Marsh & McLennan's net income for the third quarter was $297 million or $0.54 per share, up from $253 million or $0.45 per share in the prior-year period.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter was $0.56 per share, compared to $0.46 per share in the year-ago quarter. On average, 22 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.52 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Consolidated revenue for the quarter grew 7 percent to $3.14 billion from $2.93 billion in the same quarter last year, and beat analysts' consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. On an underlying basis, revenues increased 5 percent.

Total risk and insurance services revenues for the quarter increased 7 percent from last year to $1.61 billion, with Marsh revenues growing 8 percent.

Total consulting revenues grew 7 percent from the year-ago quarter to $1.54 billion, with Mercer revenues rising 4 percent.

The company recorded investment income of $26 million in the latest quarter, which was predominantly carried interest from Trident III no longer subject to clawback. Investment income in the year-ago period was $14 million.

Operating income for the quarter was 14.2 percent, compared to 13.8 percent in the year-ago period. Adjusted operating income for the quarter grew 11 percent, and adjusted margin expanded 50 basis points.

MMC is trading at $52.45, up $0.69 or 1.33 percent on a volume of 235206 shares.