Aon fails to match its peers, with a 22% net profit drop

Aon has proved the exception to the rule among the large global brokers, with a first-half net profit 22% down on the $440m (£276m) it made in the same period last year. Its peers, on the other hand, posted increases in both H1 and Q2 net profits.

Aon’s drop came despite a 2% increase in total revenue, to $3.8bn from $3.7bn. Affecting the first-half results were a 4% increase in total operating expenses to $3.26bn, and a $26m loss on discontinued operations, compared with a $52m profit in the first half of 2009.

Despite the slide in first-half net profit, however, second-quarter profit increased 2% to $158m.

Marsh & McLennan Companies, the parent company of Marsh, made a net profit of $484m (£308.3m) in the first half of 2010, compared with a net loss of $17m in the same period of 2009. Second-quarter net profit also improved, from a loss of $193m in the second quarter of 2009 to a profit of $236m in 2010.

First-half revenues grew 6.7% to $5.24bn from $4.91bn, while Q2 revenues were up 5.5% to $2.61bn. First-half revenues for Marsh alone were up 8% to $2.37bn from $2.18bn.

Willis’s first-half 2010 net profit grew 4.6% to $293m from $280m in the same period of 2009. Second-quarter revenue also increased, growing 2.3% to $89m from $87m.

Total revenues in the first half of 2010 were £1.77bn, an increase of 3% on the £1.71bn it made in the same period of 2009.

Arthur J Gallagher made a net profit of $73.2m, up 4.3% on the $70.2m it made in the same period of 2009. Net income for the second quarter alone was $44m, a slight increase from its second-quarter 2009 profit of $43.8m. First-half 2010 revenues increased to $941.9m from $854.7m, while second-quarter revenues grew to $459.5m from $453.6m.