Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, plc, reported that a weak dollar, the elimination of contingency fees and the soft-market insurance cycle combined to drop first-half profit 22.5 percent over the same period last year.
The London-based insurance broker reported profit for the period dropped ?9.8 million ($17 million U.S.) to ?34 million ($59 million) for 2005 compared with ?43.5 million ($76 million U.S.) for the first six months of 2004.
The broker reported that fees and commissions increased 3 percent in the first half, or ?8 million ($13 million), going from ?243 million ($423 million) in 2004 to ?251 million ($436 million).
The firm said it sees growth in all sectors of its business, noting that U.S. revenues grew 30 percent to ?12.8 million ($22.3 million).
"Many more clients in the U.S. are now tending their business and this produced further opportunities for us," JLT said. "We have continued to win new business and employ new colleagues."
The broker said that it may participate in limited contingency fee agreements, predominately in the United Kingdom, which would result in ?2 million ($3.5 million) for the full year. JLT received ?2.9 million ($5 million) in contingent commission related to expired relationships in the first half of 2005, compared to ?4.4 million (less than $8 million) in the first half of 2004. The firm added that the fees will be fully disclosed to clients.
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