Willis profits triple as it bounces back from poor 2011

Willis bounced back strongly from a poor 2011 after today posting a tripling of profits so far this year.

Net income for the six months increased to $333m, compared to $119m in the same period last year.

Willis was helped by a reduction in salaries and benefits to $1.006bn (2011: $1.08bn) and other operating expenses reducing to $285m (2011: $316m).

However, the biggest help in the improvement was the fact that in 2011 Willis had to reimburse debt holders by $171m because it had paid back debt early, but there was no such charge this year.

Chief executive Joe Plumeri summed up the mood, saying: “The second quarter brought with it modest top-line growth and, more importantly, going forward, we are moving past many of the difficult comparable items that make it harder to see the progress we’ve made in the first half of this year.”

In the UK, Willis said in a statement that the “business was down low single-digits in the quarter”.

The challenging performance of the UK contributed to operating margins at the international segment falling to 16.7% compared to 21.5% a year ago in the second quarter.

Second quarter

In terms of the second quarter alone, net income from continuing operations for the second quarter rose to $107 million from $84 million.

Total revenue fell 2 percent to $842 million on lower commissions and fees.

Total expenses for the quarter were down 6 percent at $663 million.