UK – Willis reports loss of USD27 million

Willis Group has reported a loss of USD27 million for the third quarter of 2013 compared to a USD26 million profit in the same period of 2012. 

The loss reduced the broking company’s profits for the first nine months of the year to USD297 million, also down on the same period of last year, which came in at USD359m. The firm attributed the third quarter loss to recording a USD60 million cost for the early payment of debt and an expense of USD1 million for related fees. 

Across the group commission and fees income was up and the international segment, which contains UK business, also saw the overall numbers rise. 

However, in a statement Willis admitted that operations in the UK declined by “mid-single digits.” It did not provide a breakdown by country but operations in Western Europe were flat in the quarter, with growth in some countries offset by declines in others.