Marsh & McLennan Reports First-Quarter Profit

Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world's second-biggest insurance broker, reported first-quarter profit that missed some analysts' estimates after revenue from insurance and consulting declined.

Published on May 6, 2009

Net income was $176 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $210 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier, when it had write-downs, the New York-based company said today in a statement.

Marsh & McLennan’s revenue fell 13 percent to $2.63 billion, led by declining fees at its Kroll security unit and the Mercer and Oliver Wyman consulting businesses.

“Oliver Wyman saw a substantial decline in business activity due to the ongoing economic downturn,” Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault said in the statement.

Fees from its division that includes Oliver Wyman and the Mercer consulting firm dropped 16 percent to $1.08 billion, while revenue from its unit that includes Kroll fell 27 percent to $187 million.

Revenue at its risk and insurance services unit, which includes the Marsh Inc. brokerage, fell 8 percent to $1.37 billion, on lower prices for property and casualty insurance.