Jardine Lloyd Thompson has reported lower profit for 2005, and said it can't see any more than a modest improvement in performance in the current year.
Pretax profit fell to £73.8m for the year to December from £85m in 2004.
The group said currency factors reduced pretax profit by £9.3m, while income from market or placement service agreements (PSAs) fell to £4.9m from £11.3m.
The group said a review of its operations is under way.
Chairman Ken Carter said 2005 turned out to be the 'challenging' year the company had forecast.
Carter said: "The continued competitive market [and] downward pressure on fees and currency effects all had a negative impact on our results."
He said that in 2006, benefits from expansion and improved efficiencies will be largely offset by external factors such as highly competitive insurance markets and continuing pressure on fees.
Carter added: "At this early stage in the year we do not anticipate any more than a modest overall improvement in the group's trading performance for 2006."
