It took more than 70 years for Brown & Brown Inc. to grow its annual revenues to the $1 billion mark in 2011. It's taken the Daytona Beach-based insurance agency just three years to increase its annual revenues by another half-billion dollars.The company, which has offices throughout the country, late Monday reported that it generated more than $1.57 billion in revenues in 2014, up from $1.36 billion in 2013.
Despite the increase in revenues, the company's net profit for the year dipped to $207 million, down from $217.2 million in 2013.
Brown & Brown ended the year on a strong note, generating $393.1 million in the fourth quarter, a 14.6 percent increase over the $343.1 million in revenues it produced the same quarter in 2013. Its net profit for the quarter totaled $24.6 million, or 17 cents per share of its common stock, down from $47.3 million, or 32 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2013.
In a conference call with stock analysts Tuesday morning, J. Powell Brown, president and chief executive officer of Brown & Brown, said he was pleased with the company's latest quarterly performance.
"Our fourth quarter was another solid quarter," he said, noting that the company's increase in revenues came not just from acquiring other insurance agencies and related businesses, but also from "organic growth" - i.e., growth at locations open at least a full year.
The company's "organic" revenues - earnings not attributable to merger and acquisitions - increased by 3.3 percent.
Brown said the company plans to hit 4 percent organic growth for 2015. "We are reconfirming this target," he said.
Brown also attributed the decrease in his company's net profits last quarter to its sale of North Carolina-based Axiom Re LP, which resulted in a loss of 21 cents a share. The sale was part of the company's decision to exit the reinsurance brokerage market, he said.
The company also said it signed an agreement this week to sell certain assets of Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based Acumen RE Management Corp., which it acquired in March 2003.
John Campbell, a research analyst at Little Rock, Arkansas-based Stephens Inc., said Brown & Brown's latest financial results were "down the middle."
"I think over the next few quarters we'll see similar financial results with modest margin growth and steady low-single digit organic growth," he said. "Then we will begin to see more impressive margin expansion and higher organic growth as the wave of new hires start to produce."
Campbell said he expects Brown & Brown in 2015 to "continue to stay focused on hiring and delivering some capital back to shareholders."
He said he expected Brown & Brown's annual revenues to grow to $2 billion by 2017.
Founded in 1939, Brown & Brown today employs 7,700 workers company-wide, including more than 400 at its headquarters at 220 S. Ridgewood Ave. in downtown Daytona Beach.