Marsh McLennan 2022 results show volatile investment income picture

Investment income down compared to Q4 2021 for global insurance giant but overall revenue for the company was up.

Marsh McLennan saw changing results for Q4 2022 compared to 2021.

Financial services giant Marsh McLennan reported its fiscal results for the fourth quarter and year end of 31 December 2022. The business, which has several component parts – Mercer, Oliver Wyman, Guy Carpenter, and Marsh – saw mixed results last year compared to 2021. 

Revenue for the New-York-headquartered company for Q4 2022 was $5 billion, compared to $5.1 billion last year, a decrease of 2%; and for 2022 year as a whole was $20.72 billion, which was up from 2021’s $19.82 billion. 

Operating income was $680 million compared with $986 million in the prior year period, said Marsh McLennan’s statement on the results. Adjusted operating income, which excludes noteworthy items as presented in the attached supplemental schedules, rose 13% to $1 billion, compared with $905 million in the prior year period. 

For the Risk & Insurance Services part of the business, revenue was $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 – a decrease of 3%, or an increase of 8% on an underlying basis. 

“2022 was an outstanding year for Marsh McLennan,” said the company’s President and CEO, John Doyle. “We generated underlying revenue growth of 9%, grew adjusted EPS by 11%, and expanded adjusted margins for the 15th consecutive year."

Comparatively, reinsurer Guy Carpenter's fourth-quarter revenue was $171 million, an increase of 1%, or 5% on an underlying basis. For the year 2022, Guy Carpenter’s revenue grew 8% compared to a year ago, or 9% on an underlying basis. 

Mercer’s revenue was $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, a decrease of 3%, or an increase of 5% on an underlying basis. 

Oliver Wyman’s revenue was $765 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 8% on an underlying basis. Investment section 

For Marsh McLennan, investment income – which was $18 million in Q4 2021 – made a $6m loss in 2022. 

However, trends were very different for the year as a whole. For 2022, the company made $21 million in investment income, which was less than half of 2021’s $61 million – and a drop of almost two-thirds. 

The company reported full-year revenue growth of 5% and underlying revenue growth of 9%. 

Full-Year Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) operating income decreased by 1%, and adjusted operating income increased by 11%. 

The results follow other major players also seeing a better Q4 than Q3 in 2022.