Profit after tax at broker Aon Limited jumped 134% to £60.9m in 2010 from £26m in 2009, Companies House filings reveal.
However, the large profit boost comes despite a 0.8% dip in revenue to £640.5m from £646m. “The slowing economy has contributed to softening insurance prices and this has impacted revenue generation,” Aon said in the filing.
Excluding interest income, Aon Limited’s turnover was £636.4m in 2010 compared with £640.9m in 2009.
The increased profit is largely thanks to a sharp drop in restructuring charges to £14.8m in 2010 from £84.2m in 2009. The restructuring costs in 2009 were mainly caused by the changes following the acquisition of reinsurance broker Benfield in 2008. Aon said the 2010 charges came from the tail-end of the Aon Benfield retructuring coupled with the reorganisation related to Aon’s purchase of human resources consultancy Hewitt Associates on October 2010.
Other costs incurred in the year related to reduction in headcount and properties following the restructuring of its UK operations, which started in 2005 and continued through to 2010.
The company also benefited from a reduction in administrative expenses to £512.1m from £533.9m. Aon attributed the reduction to cost savings from the company’s 2009 reorganisation and restructuring exercise.
Aon Limited is the UK regulated division of global broking group Aon Corporation. It generated 36.8% of its turnover from UK clients, with the remainder coming from North America (17.6%), Europe (11.3%) and other locations (34.2%).
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