Aon reports decrease in net income for Q3

Aon Corporation has reported a net income of US$117 million for 2008 Q3, compared to US$204 million for the same period in 2007. This includes the impact of businesses moved to discontinued operations, Aon reports in a release. Net income from continuing operations increased to US$153 million, compared to US$130 million for 2007 Q3. Total revenue increased to US$1.8 billion, with organic revenue growth of 2%. Total operating expenses increased US$113 million, to US$1.6 billion, including a US$37-million increase in restructuring expense and a US$28-million unfavorable impact from foreign currency translation, Aon notes.”We are pleased to deliver results that demonstrate continued progress in each of our key metrics: organic growth was 2%, adjusted pretax margin increased 140 basis points and adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations increased 33%,” Greg Case, president and CEO, Aon Corporation, said in the release. “These results were achieved despite soft market conditions globally and unprecedented turmoil in the insurance industry.” Driven by a commitment to expense discipline, Aon increased savings related to its 2007 restructuring program by US$60 million, which enabled further investment in the industry-leading platform and concurrent margin improvement, Case added. “Additionally, our balance sheet provides solid financial flexibility as we continue to make strategic investments including the acquisition of Benfield, while streamlining our core focus with the announced sale of AIS and returning more than $400 million of excess capital to shareholders,” he continued.