Marsh & McLennan Has First-Quarter Profit; Fees Fall

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world’s second-biggest insurance broker, reported first-quarter profit that missed some analysts’ estimates after revenue from insurance and consulting declined.

Net income was $176 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $210 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier, when it had writedowns, the New York-based company said today in a statement.

Marsh & McLennan’s revenue fell 13 percent to $2.63 billion, led by declining fees at its Kroll security unit and the Mercer and Oliver Wyman consulting businesses.

“Oliver Wyman saw a substantial decline in business activity due to the ongoing economic downturn,” Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreault said in the statement.

Fees from its division that includes Oliver Wyman and the Mercer consulting firm dropped 16 percent to $1.08 billion, while revenue from its unit that includes Kroll fell 27 percent to $187 million.

Revenue at its risk and insurance services unit, which includes the Marsh Inc. brokerage, fell 8 percent to $1.37 billion, on lower prices for property and casualty insurance.

Marsh & McLennan was expected to earn 43 cents a share, the median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Adjusted profit was 40 cents a share, two cents short of the median estimate in a survey of 12 analysts.

Marsh & McLennan fell 6 cents to $20.59 in composite trading yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has fallen 15 percent this year.