MMC Declares Quarterly Dividend

NU Online News Service, Sept. 18, 11:45 a.m. EDT

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. said it will pay a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share on outstanding common stock, payable on Nov. 16 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 9.

For the second quarter of this year, New York-based services company MMC reported a net loss of $193 million, or net loss per share of 37 cents, compared to net income of $65 million, or 12 cents a share, for the same period last year. Revenues were down 13 percent, or $404 million, to $2.63 billion.

The $193 million net loss was attributed to a $315 million charge for goodwill the company took related to the sale of Kroll Government Services, completed during the second quarter.

During a conference call with analysts in August to discuss second-quarter results, Brian Duperreault, president and chief executive officer of MMC, said, "Overall, we had a great quarter in light of the difficult economic environment."

For the first six months of this year, the New York-based parent company of insurance broker Marsh and reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter reported a net loss of $17 million, or net loss of 3 cents per share, compared to prior-year net loss of $145 million, or 28 cents a share. Revenues dropped 14 percent, or $819 million, to $5.24 billion.