MARSH-MCLENNAN Earningcall Transcript Of Q2 of 2024
Mark Christopher McGivney -- Chief Financial Officer Thank you, John, and good morning. Our second quarter results were strong: solid underlying growth, significant margin expansion and 10% growth in adjusted EPS. Our consolidated revenue increased 6% to $6.2 billion, with underlying growth of 6%. Operating income was $1.6 billion, and adjusted operating income was $1.7 billion, up 11%. Our adjusted operating margin increased 130 basis points to 29%. EPS was $2.27 and adjusted EPS was $2.41. For the first six months of 2024, underlying revenue growth was 8%, our adjusted operating income grew 11% to $3.7 billion, our adjusted operating margin increased 100 basis points and our adjusted EPS increased 12% to $5.30. Looking at Risk and Insurance Services. Second quarter revenue was $4 billion, up 8% from a year ago or 7% on an underlying basis. This result marks the 14th consecutive quarter of 7% or higher underlying growth in RIS and continues the best stretch of growth in two decades. RIS operating income was $1.3 billion in the second quarter. Adjusted operating income was also $1.3 billion, up 12% over last year, and our adjusted operating margin expanded 110 basis points to 35.3%. For the first six months of the year, revenue in RIS was $8.3 billion with underlying growth of 8%, adjusted operating income increased 12% to $2.9 billion, and our margin increased 90 basis points to 37.3%. At Marsh, revenue in the quarter was $3.3 billion, up 8% from a year ago or 7% on an underlying basis. This strong growth came on top of 10% growth in the second quarter of last year. Growth in the second quarter reflected strong new business and solid renewals. In U.S. and Canada, underlying growth was 6% for the quarter. International underlying growth was 7%. EMEA was up 7%. Asia Pacific grew 7%. And Latin America was up 8%. For the first six months of the year, Marsh's revenue was $6.3 billion with underlying growth of 7%. U.S. and Canada grew 7% and international was up 8%. Guy Carpenter's revenue was $632 million in the quarter, up 10% or 11% on an underlying basis. This terrific result came on top of 11% growth last year and was driven by double-digit growth across most geographies and specialties. For the first six months of the year, Guy Carpenter generated $1.8 billion of revenue and 9% underlying growth. In the consulting segment, second quarter revenue was $2.2 billion, up 2% from a year ago or 4% on an underlying basis. Consulting operating income was $410 million, and adjusted operating income was $426 million, up 6%. Our adjusted operating margin in consulting was 19.8% in the second quarter, an increase of 60 basis points. For the first six months of 2024, consulting revenue was $4.4 billion, reflecting underlying growth of 6%. Adjusted operating income increased 7% to $870 million, and our margin increased 50 basis points to 20.3%. Mercer's revenue was $1.4 billion in the quarter, flat compared to a year ago, but up 5% on an underlying basis. This was Mercer's 13th straight quarter of 5% or higher underlying growth and continues the best run of growth in 15 years. Wealth grew 3%, driven by growth in both Investment Management and DB Consultant. Our assets under management were $492 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 1% sequentially and up 25% compared to the second quarter of last year. Year-over-year growth was driven by our transaction with Vanguard, impact of capital markets and positive net flows. Health underlying growth remained strong at 9% and reflected growth across all regions. Career revenue increased 2%, continuing the trend of modest growth following a two-year stretch of strong growth in demand. For the first six months of the year, revenue at Mercer was $2.8 billion with 6% underlying growth. Oliver Wyman's revenue in the quarter was $837 million, an increase of 3% on an underlying basis. This comes on top of 11% growth a year ago. The first six months of the year, revenue at Oliver Wyman was $1.6 billion, an increase of 8% on an underlying basis, up from 6% growth in the first half of last year. Foreign exchange was a $0.02 headwind in the second quarter. Assuming exchange rates remain at current levels, we expect FX to be a $0.02 headwind in the third quarter and $0.02 in the fourth quarter. Total noteworthy items in the quarter were $73 million. These included $44 million of restructuring costs, mostly related to the program we began in the fourth quarter of 2022, as well as some transaction-related expense. Our other net benefit credit was $66 million in the quarter. For the full year, we continue to expect our other net benefit credit will be approximately $265 million. Interest expense in the second quarter was $156 million, up from $146 million in the second quarter last year, reflecting higher levels of debt and higher interest rates. Based on our current forecast, we expect approximately $154 million of interest expense in the third quarter and approximately $620 million for the full year. Our adjusted effective tax rate in the second quarter was 26.2% compared with 24.2% in the second quarter of last year. Our tax rate in both periods benefited from favorable discrete items. Excluding discrete items, our adjusted effective tax rate was approximately 26.5%. When we give forward guidance around our tax rate, we do not project discrete items, which can be positive or negative. Based on the current environment, we continue to expect an adjusted effective tax rate of between 25.5% and 26.5% for 2024. Turning to capital management and our balance sheet. We ended the quarter with total debt of $13.5 billion. Our next scheduled debt maturity is in the first quarter of 2025 when $500 million of senior notes mature. We continue to expect to deploy approximately $4.5 billion of capital in 2024 across dividends, acquisitions and share repurchases. The ultimate level of share repurchase will depend on how the M&A pipeline develops. Last week, we announced a 15% increase to our quarterly dividend, making this our 15th consecutive year of dividend growth. This comes on top of a 20% increase a year ago and reflects our strong earnings growth and confidence in our outlook. Our cash position at the end of the second quarter was $1.7 billion. Uses of cash in the quarter totaled $1.2 billion and included $352 million for dividends, $500 million for acquisitions and $300 million for share repurchases. For the first six months, uses of cash totaled $2.2 billion and included $706 million for dividends, $847 million for acquisitions and $600 million for share repurchases. While there continues to be uncertainty in the outlook for the global economy, we feel good about the momentum in our business and the current environment remains supportive of growth. Overall, our excellent first half leaves us well positioned for another great year in 2024. Based on our outlook today, for the full year, we continue to expect mid-single-digit or better underlying growth, margin expansion and strong growth in adjusted EPS. And with that, I'm happy to turn it back to John. John Quinlan Doyle -- President and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Mark. Andrew, we are ready to begin Q&A. Questions & Answers: |