Marsh & McLennan revenue increases 6.8% in second quarter

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. reported 2014 second-quarter revenue of $3.36 billion on Tuesday, a 6.8% increase over the same period last year.

The brokerage's profit for the quarter grew 11.1% over last year's second quarter to $431 million.

Marsh L.L.C., the company's commercial brokerage unit, posted $1.49 billion in revenue, a 6.4% increase over the prior-year period, while its reinsurance brokerage, Guy Carpenter & Co. L.L.C., recorded second-quarter revenue growth of 3.5% over the same period in 2013 to $295 million.

Mercer L.L.C., the company's benefits consulting unit, posted $1.07 billion in revenue, a 2.8% increase over the second quarter of 2013, while its global management consulting arm, Oliver Wyman Group, reported a 22.7% increase in second-quarter revenue to $449 million compared with prior-year results.

“The company delivered another quarter of excellent financial results,” said Daniel Glaser, Marsh & McLennan's president and CEO, in statement. “We produced revenue growth of 7% with underlying revenue growth of 5%. This was our strongest quarterly revenue performance in two years, with all operating companies contributing.”

Through the first six months of 2014, Marsh & McLennan reported $6.56 billion in total revenue, a 5.6% gain over revenue reported through the same period in 2013.

The company's net income for the first six months of 2014 totaled $874 million, an increase of 9.1% compared with midyear results of the same period a year earlier.

“For the six months of 2014, we achieved outstanding results, with 4% underlying revenue growth, an 11% increase in adjusted operating income and margin improvement of 100 basis points to 20.4%,” Mr. Glaser said.

Marsh & McLennan is the world's largest commercial insurance brokerage, according to Business Insurance's latest ranking.