Operator
Operator
Welcome to Marsh & McLennan Companies Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. Fourth quarter 2015 financial results and supplemental information were issued earlier this morning. They are available at the company's website at, www.mmc.com. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that remarks made today may include statements relating to future events and results which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and a variety of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of factors that cause could actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made today, please refer to our earnings release for this quarter and to our most recent SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, all of which are available on the MMC website. In addition, during the call today we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin and adjusted earnings per share. For our discussion on these non-GAAP financial measures as well as our reconciliation of these measures to the most closely comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the schedule of our earnings release in this quarter. I'll now turn the call over to Dan Glaser, President and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Daniel S. Glaser - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director: Thank you, Shelan, and good morning and thank you for joining us to discuss our fourth quarter results. I'm Dan Glaser, President and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies. I'm very pleased to welcome our new CFO, Mark McGivney. In addition to having a very strong operational background, Mark becomes the first MMC Chief Financial Officer to have served both Marsh and Mercer as CFO. Welcome, Mark. Joining me on the call today are the operating company CEOs: Peter Zaffino of Marsh, Alex Moczarski of Guy Carpenter, Julio Portalatin of Mercer, and Scott McDonald of Oliver Wyman. Also with us is Keith Walsh of Investor Relations. It is difficult to accurately predict where the world is headed. I recently return from Davos, where ongoing global market volatility was a major point of discussion. Our clients need advice now more than ever to navigate these uncertain times. For Marsh & McLennan, opportunities are abundant to help our clients face the challenges of the day, many of which revolve around risk, strategy and people. These challenges are highlighted in the Annual Global Risk Report produced by the World Economic Forum with the help of Marsh & McLennan Companies. This Report explores the mounting and interconnected risks faced by corporations of all sizes as well as government entities and individuals. Over the last several years, the dialogue has evolved from mainly economic risks to include geopolitical, societal and environmental concerns. We certainly live in an age of risk. According to the UN, 2015 was characterized by social and political instability, as some 60 million people were forcibly displaced, the largest number in history. Geopolitical tensions are also escalating between global and regional powers in places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Ukraine, Korea and the South China Sea. Market dislocations in China and drastic reductions in commodity prices have raised concerns about global growth and dented business confidence. And financial markets are skeptical about the effectiveness of central banks given the limited tools at their disposal in a near zero interest rate environment. Amidst this global uncertainty, it is easy for companies to embrace self-fulfilling pessimism. While we remain cautious on the global front, we see several factors that are positive for Marsh & McLennan Companies. The developed world continues to post modest but steady GDP growth and improving employment rates. And the emerging markets, while volatile, are a long-term driver of growth. The demand for our services remains strong. We are optimistic about our prospects for continued organic growth and our acquisition pipeline is in good shape. Our fundamentals are rock solid. We are stronger strategically, operationally and financially than at any time in the past decade. We have a deep understanding of our clients and the markets in which we operate. We set challenging yet realistic objectives for our performance and we deliver on our commitments. So let's review our performance in 2015. We capped off the year with an outstanding fourth quarter, posting our highest underlying revenue growth of 2015 at 5%. This was our 11th consecutive quarter of at least 3% underlying revenue growth. We also delivered 8% adjusted EPS growth, driven by higher operating income with margin expansion in both the RIS and consulting segments. In terms of our full-year performance, MMC produced underlying revenue growth, margin expansion in both segments and meaningful EPS growth. Underlying revenue grew 4%, representing our sixth consecutive year in the 3% to 5% growth range. This was also our sixth consecutive year of margin expansion in both the RIS and consulting segments. This expansion was balanced across the segments, with Risk and Insurance Services rising 90 basis points to 23.3% and Consulting up 80 basis points to 17.3%. On a consolidated basis, the margin rose 100 basis points to 19.1%, our highest level in 12 years. Adjusted EPS increased 8% to a record $3.05, while absorbing $0.18 of negative FX impact. Since 2009, our adjusted EPS has grown at a CAGR of 13.5%, consistent with the 13% long-term target we set at Investor Day in 2010 and reaffirmed at Investor Day in March 2014. This was accomplished despite approximately $200 million of FX headwinds during this six-year period, a yearly average of $0.04 per share. Before I discuss our view regarding 2016, I would like to spend a few moments on recent developments in the insurance industry. There is a noticeable amount of change occurring at many insurance companies. We have seen large-scale M&A, senior management changes, a reduction in the underwriting appetite at several companies, as well as a willingness at some firms to reconsider reinsurance as a way to reduce volatility. These developments are not overly concerning to us or our clients, since the changes do not relate to issues of financial strength or solvency. In fact, there are potential positive outcomes for MMC, such as volatile markets could result in a flight to quality, as clients seek brokers who have a depth of experience and capability. Clients may lean even more toward their broker to assess and recommend markets. More underwriting discipline may come to the market. This is really hard to call; it is just as likely to create more competition in the short term. And high quality underwriting talent is becoming more dispersed. This could lead to a prolonged, healthy, competitive market, with higher levels of innovation, new product offerings and improved service. Now turning to 2016. For the year, we expect to grow underlying revenue, expand margins, deliver strong growth in adjusted EPS and return meaningful capital to shareholders. Starting with organic revenue growth, one of the key strengths of MMC is the diversity of our geographic footprint. It is an important driver of our long-term growth. The developing world should grow faster over the longer term, owing to generally higher levels of GDP growth, under-penetration of insurance and the ability to sell more of our consulting services globally. However, these countries have been experiencing more volatility recently, with many impacted by declines in commodity prices. While there is concern about the emerging world and the overall strength of the global economy, the U.S. and UK continued to perform relatively well. These two countries represent our largest geographies, providing stability to our revenue. On a consolidated basis over the last six years, we have grown underlying revenue in a range of 3% to 5%, and we view this range as the likely outcome for 2016. Underpinning our revenue has been low-single digit GDP growth and benign inflation in the developed world, with modestly better growth in the emerging markets. In addition, we anticipate low-single digit global P&C premium growth as increases in insured values and other exposures should offset the effects of rate reductions. Turning to margins, we have just concluded our eighth consecutive year of margin expansion. Over this period, our adjusted operating margin has improved more than 1,000 basis points to 19.1%. As we have said many times, we do not have a margin target. We view margin expansion as a natural outcome of managing a business properly to grow revenue and earnings. We are disciplined around managing our annual expense growth in line with revenue growth and maintain flexibility to adjust accordingly. While it is conceivable expense growth may exceed revenue growth in a given quarter, we would not expect this to occur for a full year. So, as we look at 2016, we expect to deliver margin expansion in both segments for the seventh consecutive year. Moving to EPS growth, 2015 was an unprecedented year for FX. We posted 8% adjusted EPS growth, or 14.5% on a constant currency basis. If foreign exchange rates remain at their current levels, we anticipate about $0.07 per share of adverse currency impact in 2016, less than half of what we saw last year. Given our current view of FX and global macroeconomic conditions, we expect strong EPS growth in 2016 at a level approaching our long-term target. Turning to capital management. We are a cash business. As we produce high levels of earnings growth, our cash flows should grow at a similar rate. We will continue to deploy capital in excess of our free cash flow. We expect to increase debt balances each year as earnings growth increases our debt capacity. As mentioned on our last earnings call, we anticipate capital deployed in 2016 for dividends, acquisitions and share repurchases to approximate $2.3 billion. We reiterate our annual commitments to reduce our share count and grow our dividend per share by double digits, and we will continue to grow the firm through acquisitions that build our market position, client services and geographic footprint. I also want to spend a few moments on our investment philosophy. We believe in balance and, in this context, it's the balance between delivering strong financial performance today while investing for our future. MMC has a solid foundation and we have the flexibility to deliver strong financial performance in a variety of market conditions. We have balance sheet flexibility to take advantage of opportunities while preserving our ability to manage through periods of stress. Since 2009, we have invested nearly $7 billion for growth and efficiencies. This includes CapEx of $2.2 billion, 115 acquisitions and investments totaling approximately $4.6 billion and an increase in our head count of over 10,000 colleagues. We have also invested in and rewarded our colleagues. In each of the last eight years, our overall global incentive compensation pools have increased while we have driven significant margin expansion. Acquisitions are a core competency of Marsh & McLennan Companies. We don't just buy companies; we develop relationships over time. We see chemistry and a cultural fit. And we invest in growth, not just geographically, but by segment, by line of business and by capability. We were active in 2015, completing 27 acquisitions and investments for approximately $1.2 billion. Lastly, I want to thank our 60,000 colleagues for their contributions. And, in particular, my leadership team. I am privileged to work with a strong leadership team that is defined by high standards, diversity of thought, cohesiveness and collegiality. We are a team that takes its commitments seriously and we have delivered year after year. In summary, we are very pleased with our fourth quarter and full-year results, as we continued to execute our long-term strategy for growth. As we look to 2016, we are well-positioned to deliver underlying revenue growth, margin expansion in both operating segments and strong EPS growth. With that, let me turn it over to Mark to give you more details on our performance.