“Willis Towers Watson had an encouraging start to the year with strong first quarter results,” said John Haley, Willis Towers Watson’s chief executive officer. “We are proud of our financial performance and our unwavering commitment to client service. We delivered revenue growth, meaningful margin expansion and strong earnings-per-share growth. Our results reflect both increased demand for our solutions, as well as our sustained focus on profitable growth. We continue to build upon our solid foundation and believe we are well-positioned to continue driving value for all our stakeholders. As always, I would like to thank all of our colleagues for their tremendous efforts this past quarter in support of our clients and each other.”
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1 The revenue amounts included in this release are presented on a U.S. GAAP basis except where stated otherwise. The segment discussion is on an organic basis.
First Quarter Company Highlights
Revenue was $2.59 billion for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 5% (1% increase constant currency and 4% increase organic) as compared to $2.47 billion for the same period in the prior year.
Income from operations for the first quarter was $452 million, or 17.5% of revenue, an increase of 290 basis points compared to the first quarter of the prior year. Adjusted operating income was $579 million, or 22.4% of revenue, an increase of 110 basis points compared to the first quarter of the prior year. Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson for the first quarter of 2021 was $733 million, an increase of 140% from $305 million for the prior-year first quarter. For the quarter, diluted earnings per share were $5.63 and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $3.64. Net income attributable to Willis Towers Watson and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2021 included pre-tax $24 million of transaction and integration expenses related to the pending business combination with Aon plc. The U.S. GAAP tax rate for the quarter was 11.5%, and the adjusted income tax rate for the quarter used in calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share was 20.5%.
Net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $736 million, or 28.4% of revenue, an increase from net income of $313 million, or 12.7% of revenue for the prior-year first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2021 was $730 million, or 28.2% of revenue, an increase from Adjusted EBITDA of $680 million, or 27.6% of revenue. The first quarter is seasonally strong due to the renewal periods for some lines of business.
Cash flows used in operating activities were $128 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to cash flows from operating activities of $23 million for the prior-year first quarter. Free cash outflow for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was $165 million and $43 million, respectively. The decrease in year-over-year free cash flow was due to net legal settlement payments of approximately $185 million for the previously-announced Stanford and Willis/Towers Watson merger settlements and higher incentive compensation and benefit-related items of approximately $180 million. During the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the Company had no share repurchase activity.
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