NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Dan Glaser, President and CEO, said, “Marsh & McLennan had an excellent first quarter. We marked the one-year anniversary of our acquisition of JLT and are realizing the benefits of the combination. In the quarter, we grew total revenue 14% and delivered strong underlying revenue growth of 5%, with underlying growth across both Risk and Insurance Services and Consulting. We also increased our adjusted operating income by 15%, adjusted margin by 80 basis points and adjusted EPS by 8%.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic will affect all businesses in 2020, Marsh & McLennan has proven to be a resilient firm with unique capabilities, talent and expertise that will allow us to help our clients in this time of need.”

Consolidated Results

Consolidated revenue in the first quarter of 2020 was $4.7 billion, an increase of 14%, or 5% on an underlying basis, compared with the first quarter of 2019. Underlying revenue growth is calculated as if Marsh & McLennan and Jardine Lloyd Thompson were a combined company a year ago, but excludes the impact of currency, other acquisitions, dispositions, and transfers among businesses. Operating income was $1.1 billion compared with $938 million in the prior year. Adjusted operating income, which excludes noteworthy items as presented in the attached supplemental schedules, rose 15% to $1.2 billion.

Net income attributable to the Company was $754 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, in the first quarter. This compares with $716 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, in the prior year. Adjusted earnings per share rose 8% to $1.64 compared with $1.52 for the prior year period.

Risk & Insurance Services

Risk & Insurance Services revenue was $2.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 20% compared with the first quarter 2019, or 5% on an underlying basis. Operating income of $854 million increased 17% from the prior year. Adjusted operating income rose 20% to $932 million compared with $775 million in the prior year.

Marsh's revenue in the first quarter was $2.1 billion, an increase of 5% on an underlying basis. In U.S./Canada, underlying revenue also rose 5%. International operations produced underlying revenue growth of 4%, reflecting growth of 6% in Asia Pacific, 4% in EMEA and 3% in Latin America.

Guy Carpenter's revenue in the first quarter was $827 million, an increase of 7% on an underlying basis.

Consulting

Consulting revenue in the first quarter was $1.8 billion, an increase of 5%, or 3% on an underlying basis. Operating income increased 1% to $282 million compared with $279 million in the prior year. Adjusted operating income declined 1% to $289 million compared with $291 million in the prior year.

Mercer's revenue was $1.3 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 5% on an underlying basis. Health, with revenue of $486 million, rose 8% on an underlying basis. Wealth revenue of $592 million increased 3% on an underlying basis, and Career revenue of $173 million increased 2% on an underlying basis.

Oliver Wyman’s revenue was $511 million, flat with the first quarter of 2019 on an underlying basis.

Other Items

In January, Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA) closed the acquisitions of Ironwood Insurance Services, LLC and Momentous Insurance Brokerage. On April 1, 2020, MMA announced the acquisition of Assurance Holdings, Inc., one of the leading independent agencies in the U.S.

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company repaid $500 million of senior notes.

Conference Call

A conference call to discuss first quarter 2020 results will be held today at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. To participate in the teleconference, please dial . Callers from outside the United States should dial . The access code for both numbers is 3870718. The live audio webcast may be accessed at . A replay of the webcast will be available approximately two hours after the event.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

(NYSE: MMC) is the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. The Company’s 76,000 colleagues advise clients in over 130 countries. With annual revenue of $17 billion, Marsh & McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses. advises individual and commercial clients of all sizes on insurance broking and innovative risk management solutions. develops advanced risk, reinsurance and capital strategies that help clients grow profitably and pursue emerging opportunities. delivers advice and technology-driven solutions that help organizations redefine the world of work, reshape retirement and investment outcomes, and unlock health and wellbeing for a changing workforce. serves as a critical strategic, economic and brand advisor to private sector and governmental clients. For more information, visit , follow us on and Twitter or subscribe to .

INFORMATION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which express management's current views concerning future events or results, use words like "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project" and similar terms, and future or conditional tense verbs like "could," "may," "might," "should," "will" and "would."

Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could materially affect our future results include, among other things:

• the financial and operational impact of the coronavirus global pandemic on our revenue and ability to generate new business, our overall level of profitability and cash flow, and our liquidity, particularly the timeliness and ultimate collectability of our receivables;
• the impact of disruption in the credit or financial markets, or changes to our credit ratings, including as a result of COVID-19, on our ability to access capital or repay our significant outstanding indebtedness on favorable terms and our compliance with the covenants contained in the agreements that govern our indebtedness;
• the impact from lawsuits, other contingent liabilities and loss contingencies arising from errors and omissions, breach of fiduciary duty or other claims against us, including claims related to pandemic coverage;
• our ability to manage risks associated with our investment management and related services business, particularly in the context of volatile equity markets caused by COVID-19, including our ability to execute timely trades in light of increased trading volume and to manage potential conflicts of interest between investment consulting and fiduciary management services;
• our ability to compete effectively and adapt to changes in the competitive environment, including to respond to technological change, disintermediation, digital disruption and other types of innovation;
• our ability to attract and retain industry leading talent;
• our ability to maintain adequate safeguards to protect the security of our information systems and confidential, personal or proprietary information, particularly given the large volume of our vendor network and the need to identify and patch software vulnerabilities, including those in the existing JLT information systems;
• the impact of investigations, reviews, or other activity by regulatory or law enforcement authorities;
• the financial and operational impact of complying with laws and regulations where we operate and the risks of noncompliance with such laws, including anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.K. Anti-Bribery Act, trade sanctions regimes and cybersecurity and data privacy regulations such as the E.U.’s General Data Protection Regulation;
• the regulatory, contractual and reputational risks that arise based on insurance placement activities and various insurer revenue streams;
• our ability to successfully recover if we experience a business continuity problem due to cyberattack, natural disaster or otherwise; and
• the impact of changes in tax laws, guidance and interpretations, including certain provisions of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or disagreements with tax authorities.

The factors identified above are not exhaustive. Marsh & McLennan Companies and its subsidiaries operate in a dynamic business environment in which new risks emerge frequently. Accordingly, we caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based only on information currently available to us and speak only as of the dates on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which it is made.

Further information concerning Marsh & McLennan Companies and its businesses, including information about factors that could materially affect our results of operations and financial condition, is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section and the "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" section of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Company acquired JLT on April 1, 2019 and JLT's results are included in the Company's consolidated results of operations from that date. The three month period ended March 31, 2019 does not include JLT's results.

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

Supplemental Information - Revenue Analysis

Three Months Ended March 31

(Millions) (Unaudited)

The Company conducts business in more than 130 countries. As a result, foreign exchange rate movements may impact period-to-period comparisons of revenue. Similarly, certain other items such as the revenue impact of acquisitions and dispositions, including transfers among businesses, may impact period-to-period comparisons of revenue. Underlying revenue measures the change in revenue from one period to the next by isolating these impacts.

The calculation of underlying revenue growth for the three months ended March 31, 2020 includes the results of JLT. The column "2019 Including JLT" includes JLT's prior year first quarter revenue (See reconciliation of non-GAAP measures on page 12).

Revenue Details

The following table provides more detailed revenue information for certain of the components presented above:

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures - Actual as Reported

Three Months Ended March 31

(Millions) (Unaudited)

Overview

The Company reports its financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (referred to in this release as "GAAP" or "reported" results). The Company also refers to and presents below certain additional non-GAAP financial measures, within the meaning of Regulation G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These measures are: adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted operating margin, adjusted income, net of tax and adjusted earnings per share (EPS). The Company has included reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP in the following tables.

The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information that enables investors to better compare the Company’s performance across periods. Management also uses these measures internally to assess the operating performance of its businesses, to assess performance for employee compensation purposes and to decide how to allocate resources. However, investors should not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the financial information that the Company reports in accordance with GAAP. The Company's non-GAAP measures include adjustments that reflect how management views our businesses, and may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP measures presented by other companies.

Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) and Adjusted Operating Margin

Adjusted operating income (loss) is calculated by excluding the impact of certain noteworthy items from the Company's GAAP operating income or (loss). The following tables identify these noteworthy items and reconcile adjusted operating income (loss) to GAAP operating income or loss, on a consolidated and segment basis, for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. The following tables also present adjusted operating margin. In 2019, the Company changed its methodology for calculating adjusted operating margin due to the significant amount of identified intangible asset amortization related to the JLT Transaction, on April 1, 2019. For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, adjusted operating margin is calculated by dividing the sum of adjusted operating income plus identified intangible asset amortization by consolidated or segment adjusted revenue.

The information presented below represents the actual as reported results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. Results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are for MMC only, as previously reported, and do not include JLT results.

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures

Three Months Ended March 31,

(Millions) (Unaudited)

Adjusted income, net of tax is calculated as the Company's GAAP income from continuing operations, adjusted to reflect the after tax impact of the operating income adjustments set forth in the preceding tables and investments gains or losses related to the impact of mark-to-market adjustments on certain equity securities. Adjustments also include JLT acquisition related items, including change in fair value of derivative contracts, financing costs and interest income on funds held in escrow. Adjusted EPS is calculated by dividing the Company’s adjusted income, net of tax, by MMC's average number of shares outstanding-diluted for the relevant period. The following tables reconcile adjusted income, net of tax to GAAP income from continuing operations and adjusted EPS to GAAP EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. Results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 are for MMC only, as previously reported, and do not include JLT results.

The Company acquired JLT on April 1, 2019 and JLT's results are included in the Company's consolidated results of operations from that date. The three month period ended March 31, 2019 does not include JLT's results.

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures - 2019 Revenue Including JLT

Three Months Ended March 31, 2019

(Millions) (Unaudited)

On April 1, 2019, the Company completed its previously announced acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, plc. JLT results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are included in the Company’s results of operations for the first quarter of 2020. Prior periods in 2019 do not include JLT’s results. Prior to being acquired by the Company, JLT operated in three segments, Specialty, Reinsurance and Employee Benefits. As of April 1, 2019, the historical JLT businesses were combined into MMC operations as follows: JLT Specialty was included by geography within Marsh, JLT Reinsurance was included within Guy Carpenter and the majority of the JLT Employee Benefits business was included in Mercer Health and Wealth.

The JLT Transaction had a significant impact on the Company’s results of operations in 2019. The Company believes that in addition to the change in reported GAAP revenue, a comparison of 2020 revenue to the combined 2019 revenue of MMC and JLT would provide investors useful information about the year-over-year results.

The table below sets forth revenue information as if the companies were combined on January 1, 2019. Consolidated revenue in 2019 for the three months ended March 31, 2019 "MMC as previously reported" does not include JLT revenue for the period from January 1 to March 31, 2019. The "2019 Including JLT" revenue information set forth in the table below presents revenue information as if the companies were combined on January 1, 2019 and is not necessarily indicative of what the results would have been had we operated the business since January 1, 2019.

The MMC revenue amounts are as previously reported by the Company in its quarterly filings on Form 10-Q for the applicable periods. JLT 2019 revenue information is derived using the same policies and adjustments as the "JLT Supplemental Information - Revenue Analysis" furnished to the SEC on June 6, 2019 on Form 8-K, and includes the revenue from JLT’s aerospace business.

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