Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) has reported a 5% increase in net income during the first quarter of 2020, despite pressure from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Income stood at $754 million at the end of Q1, compared with $716 million for the same period last year. Consolidated revenue similarly increase 14%, or 5% on an underlying basis to $4.7 billion.
This was helped by a 7% increase in the underlying revenue of MMC’s reinsurance broking arm, Guy Carpenter, which reported revenue of $827 million for the quarter.
Underlying revenue growth is calculated as if Marsh & McLennan and Jardine Lloyd Thompson were a combined company a year ago, but excludes the impact of currency, other acquisitions, dispositions, and transfers among businesses.
Operating income was $1.1 billion compared with $938 million in the prior year, and adjusted operating income rose 15% to $1.2 billion.
Looking at MMC’s Risk & Insurance Services businesses, Guy Carpenter fared slightly better than Marsh, which reported a 5% growth in underlying revenue to $2.1 billion.
In the US and Canada, Marsh’s underlying revenue also rose 5%, while international operations produced underlying revenue growth of 4%, reflecting growth of 6% in Asia Pacific, 4% in EMEA and 3% in Latin America.
Overall, Risk & Insurance Services revenue was $2.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 20% compared with the first quarter 2019, or 5% on an underlying basis.
Turning to MMC’s Consulting business, revenue increased 5% to $1.8 billion in Q1, or 3% on an underlying basis. This consisted of a 5% growth in revenue to $1.3 billion for Mercer, and a flat revenue of $511 million for Oliver Wyman.
“Marsh & McLennan had an excellent first quarter,” commented MMC President and CEO Dan Glaser. “We marked the one-year anniversary of our acquisition of JLT and are realizing the benefits of the combination.
He added: “Although the COVID-19 pandemic will affect all businesses in 2020, Marsh & McLennan has proven to be a resilient firm with unique capabilities, talent and expertise that will allow us to help our clients in this time of need.”
