Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) has reported 2020 full-year revenue growth of 3% after closing the year with a “strong fourth quarter”.
The global professional services firm, which is parent to insurance broking and risk management giant Marsh, as well as reinsurer Guy Carpenter, and consulting firms Mercer and Oliver Wyman, reported consolidated revenue of US$17.2 billion for 2020, up by 3% compared with 2019. In the fourth quarter (Q4), the firm brought in US$4.4 billion, marking a 4% increase compared to the prior year quarter.
MMC’s operating income for the year was US$3.1 billion and the net income attributable to the company was US$2.0 billion. For Q4, the group reported operating income of US$571 million and net income attributed to the company of $374million, or $0.73 per diluted share.
Risk and insurance services revenue – Marsh and Guy Carpenter – was US$10.3 billion for the year, up by 8% from 2019. The fourth quarter contribution was US$2.5 billion, an improvement of 6% from Q4 of 2019. Operating income also went up over both periods, with the yearly figure rising from US$1.8 billion in 2019 to US$2.3 billion in 2020, and the Q4 figure jumping from US$365 million to US$463 million.
Marsh achieved revenue growth of 7% for the year. In the fourth quarter, the global brokerage brought in revenue of US$2.4 billion, up 7% from the prior year quarter. The US and Canada units performed particularly well, reporting underlying revenue growth of 7%. Meanwhile, Marsh’s international operations’ underlying revenue was flat compared to the prior year period, reflecting underlying growth of 3% in Latin America and 1% in Asia Pacific, and partially offset by a decline of 2% in EMEA.
Guy Carpenter’s Q4 revenue was US$162 million – another increase of 7% from the prior year period. For the year, the reinsurer’s revenue grew 15%.
Commenting on the results, MMC president and CEO Dan Glaser said: “2020 was a year like no other. I’m proud of how our colleagues rose to the challenge, helping clients and one another and achieving impressive financial performance. We ended the year with a strong fourth quarter with positive underlying revenue growth. In 2020, we achieved revenue growth of 3% with underlying revenue growth of 1% and grew adjusted EPS 7%. We demonstrated our resilience as a company in 2020 and are well positioned for growth in 2021.”
