Aon 2Q Earnings Soar on Acquisitions

Consulting and insurance broker Aon (NYSE:AON) revealed a second-quarter profit that trumped Wall Street as its HR consulting unit benefited significantly from acquisitions.

The Chicago-based company posted net income of was $256 million, or 75 cents a share, compared with $179 million, or 63 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Excluding special items Aon earned 83 cents, ahead of average analyst estimates polled by Thomson Reuters of 74 cents.

Revenue for the three months ended June 30 was $2.8 billion, up 48% from $1.9 billion a year ago, beating the Streets view of $2.66 billion.

"We delivered solid organic revenue growth in our Retail Brokerage business while delivering on the synergy savings related to Aon Hewitt," said Greg Case, the companys chief executive.

The companys risk solutions segment, which includes retail brokerage, grew 9% during the period to $1.73 billion. HR solutions grew a whopping 244% to $1.09 billion from $317 million a year ago due primarily to the Hewitt acquisition.

While macro economic conditions remain challenging globally, Case said the company is on track to deliver growth in 2011, helped by cost savings brought on by restructuring programs.

The company saved about $198 million last quarter from turnaround strategies.