Parent company MMC hit by goodwill impairment charges
Broker Marsh has reported a revenue increase of 7% in its first quarter results.
Marsh posted revenues of £1.23bn – up from £1.14bn the previous year. It grew its revenues in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) by 3% after currency impacts. Around half of Marsh's EMEA business is transacted in the UK.
The situation wasn’t as rosy, however, for parent company Marsh and McLennan Companies (MMC), which reported a net loss of $210m, down from a $268m profit in Q1 2007.
The company said The result was driven down by a non-cash goodwill impairment charges at its corporate advisory firm Kroll.
Excluding the goodwill impairment charges, net income fell to $215m from $268m in the first quarter of 2007.
Consolidated revenue was $3bn, up 8% from the first quarter of 2007, or 2% on an underlying basis.
Revenues at Guy Carpenter, MMC's reinsurance broking arm, also dropped 6% to $273m.
Brian Duperreault, president and chief executive officer of MMC, said: "MMC had solid revenue growth in the quarter, primarily driven by Mercer and Marsh. Mercer's results reflected a continuation of strong revenue performance with growth throughout all of its businesses. Marsh grew revenue on both a reported and underlying basis, generated strong new business results and showed marked improvement in client revenue retention - all important indicators of its progress.
"We continue to evaluate Kroll to identify those businesses that have the greatest growth potential within MMC's portfolio.
"Overall, actions taken across MMC's businesses during the quarter should improve operating performance and profitability."
