Willis reports $812M in third quarter revenue

Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. reported $812 million in total revenue for the third quarter of 2014, a 2.1% increase over results from the same period a year ago, the company announced on Tuesday.

Willis, the world’s third largest commercial insurance brokerage, according to Business Insurance’s 2014 rankings, also recorded a $7 million loss for the three months ending Sept. 30, compared with a net income loss of $27 million in the prior-year period. The losses were attributable primarily to $17 million in restructuring expenses related to Willis’ Operational Improvement program and $7 million of unfavorable foreign currency movements, the brokerage said in a statement released Tuesday.

Willis’ growth in revenue for the quarter was led by its International and North America segments, which posted 6.3% and 3.4% respectively in organic growth in commissions and fees. Willis’ Global segment recorded a 0.4% decrease in organic growth for the third quarter, reflecting “differing performance” across the segments various business lines, the brokerage said.

“Within our Willis Global businesses, reinsurance continued to grow despite very difficult market headwinds while the U.K. insurance business was down, primarily due to a difficult comparison in the construction specialties division,” Willis Group Holdings CEO Dominic Casserley said in the company’s statement.

Willis’ total revenues for the first three quarters of 2014 grew by 3.9% over nine-month results from the prior year, to $2.84 billion. The brokerage’s profit through three quarters fell 3.7% to $286 million in 2014.