Marsh & McLennan Cos. said its third-quarter sales were nearly flat, pressured by a decline in revenue from its consulting arm, though profit increased and topped analysts' expectations.Marsh & McLennan--the professional-services firm that is the parent of a number of companies, including the insurance-brokerage Marsh and consulting firm Mercer--said it posted $1.51 billion in revenue for its consulting business during the period, down 1.8% from a year earlier.
The company's risk-and-insurance-services segment posted a revenue increase of 3% to $1.63 billion.
Revenue in its Europe, Middle East and Africa segment jumped to $394 million from $378 million, while U.S. and Canada revenue rose to $729 million from $697 million.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Marsh & McLennan posted income of $379 million, or 73 cents per share, up from last year's $323 million, or 60 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, earnings were 69 cents a share, up from 63 cents.
Revenue rose 0.6% to $3.14 billion.