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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
LONDON—Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. announced Wednesday that revenue for the first half of the year rose to $1.87 billion, up 6% compared with the same period last year. Factors such as growth in commissions and fees boosted the London-based brokerage’s financial performance.
Willis’ commissions and fees were $1.85 billion in the six-month period ended June 30, an increase of 6% from $1.75 billion during the comparable 2010 time frame. Organic growth was up 3% in the first half of 2011 compared to the same time last year. The growth reflected an increase of 4% in new business partially offset by a negative 1% impact from declining premium rates and other market factors.
“The strength of our diversified global business was again shown…even with continued global economic pressures and little change in the overall rate environment,” said chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri in a statement released after the market closed on Wednesday.
The company’s profit during the first six months of the year sank to $119 million from $293 million during the same period in 2010. Willis took charges including $81 million net of tax for its 2011 operational review, an effort intended to align resources with growth strategies, which included severance costs related to the elimination of 600 positions between January and June.
Willis also took a recent charge for the nearly $11.1 million fine it received from the U.K. regulator, the Financial Services Authority, which alleged that Willis failed in its anti-bribery and anti-corruption systems.
In the first quarter, Willis also took a charge related to its debt.
“With the challenges from the external environment remaining largely the same, especially the lack of improvement in global economic conditions, our efforts will remain focused on achieving planned cost savings from our 2011 operational review and implementing our revenue initiatives to drive future growth,” Mr. Plumeri said in the statement.