Marsh & McLennan adjusted profit tops Wall Street view

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc , one of the world's largest insurance brokers, said net income fell 6 percent in the fourth quarter but adjusted earnings beat Wall Street expectations.

Net income was $80 million, or 15 cents a share, down from $85 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier, the company said on Wednesday.

Excluding discontinued operations, earnings rose 54 percent to 37 cents a share, topping analysts' average forecast by 5 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

The New York-based company, which competes with Aon Corp in helping companies find commercial insurance coverage, said consolidated revenue fell 9 percent to $2.7 billion, below the average estimate of $2.98 billion.

Revenue at Marsh Inc, its flagship insurance brokerage unit, was 5 percent lower at $1.1 billion but rose 1 percent in North America, a region that accounts for more than half its revenue.

Chief Executive Brian Duperreault, who joined the firm about a year ago, said Marsh Inc had made strides in boosting profit and retaining clients.

Consulting units Mercer and Oliver Wyman also suffered revenue declines. The company blamed "ongoing adverse global economic and financial market conditions."

Duperreault said "costs are being closely controlled" in those units, and Kroll Inc, a security consulting business, is streamlining its business to boost profitability.

Like Aon, Marsh & McLennan has been restructuring to boost savings after an industrywide probe in 2005 led big brokerages to drop lucrative commissions they had received from insurers they sent business to.

Marsh & McLennan said expenses declined 7 percent in the fourth quarter to $2.56 billion.

The company's shares were up 3 percent to $19.25 in premarket trading. The stock is down nearly a third over the past 12 months.

(Reporting by Lilla Zuill, editing by Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace)