Aon, Marsh and JLT next up in the third quarter results
When they talk about the big boys of broking, they don’t come much bigger than Willis.
So when Willis suffers a 46 per cent plunge in third quarter income, the industry sits up and takes notice.
Willis blamed soft market conditions, foreign exchange rates and financial integration costs with takeovers for the less-than inspiring results.
But perhaps the key to analysing how Willis performed is summed up by chairman Joe Plumeri who said: “Willis continues to deliver impressive growth relative to the industry despite very soft market conditions.”
Revenues for the quarter were $579m compared with $574m for the same period last year, an increase of 1%. Revenues for the first nine months of the year were were $2,035 million compared with $1,939 million for the same period last year, an increase of 5%.
Whether this growth really is "impressive" will depend on how Willis’ results compare to rivals.
The other big brokers – JLT, Aon and Marsh – are to deliver their third quarter results within the next three weeks.
Marsh has admitted it is battling a soft market, a problem that Aon is also experiencing.
Meanwhile the strengthening of the dollar, although mitigated by hedging, is likely to have a less-than friendly impact on the two American companies worldwide revenues.
Aon has suffered a generally downward spiral in share price during the course of the year, while Marsh has fought to keep its stock at the same level.
Their share price illustrates the uncertainty surrounding them and the wider market.
Bucking the trend is JLT, whose share price has been rising, despite the financial crisis.
The UK-based company, like many others in the insurance and broking world, is a beneficiary of the strengthening dollar.
It could quite literally top up its balance sheet by millions if the current currency trend continues.
The simple truth is however, that although there are signs that the soft market is beginning to end, no one yet knows how the difficult economic climate will affect business.
As Plumeri said, these are ‘unprecedented times’. And that should make the other third quarter, and all results in the foreseeable future, interesting reading.
