Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) stock rose 4.87% (As on January 23, 11:17:52 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported an 85% surge in fourth-quarter profit to $268.6 million, helped by higher commissions and fees alongside better investment returns. The company’s core commissions and fees increased about 11.5% to $964 million in the three months ended Dec. 31. Organic Revenue increased by 7.7%. Income before income taxes was $355.1 million, increasing 82.9% from the fourth quarter of the prior year with Income Before Income Taxes Margin increasing to 34.6% from 21.5%. EBITDAC Adjusted was $317.7 million, increasing 11.7% from the fourth quarter of the prior year with EBITDAC Margin Adjusted decreased to 31.0% from 31.4%. Net income was $268.6 million, increasing $123.4 million, or 85.0%. The Company also announced a new alignment of its businesses in conjunction with the divestiture of certain businesses within the Services segment in the fourth quarter of 2023, moving from four to three segments beginning in 2024: Retail, Programs and Wholesale Brokerage.
BRO in the fourth quarter of FY 23 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 53 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 13.8 percent to $1.03 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 23, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $981.2 million.
Additionally, the company announced that the board of directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per share. The dividend is payable on February 14, 2024, to shareholders of record on February 2, 2024.
Meanwhile, the company announced the addition of Kathleen A. Savio, former chief transformation officer of Zurich Insurance Group, to Brown & Brown’s board of directors.
On the other hand, Brown & Brown Europe’s wholesale and specialty brokerage group, Bridge Specialty International, announces today that it has agreed to acquire Acorn International Network Pte Ltd (“Acorn”), a Singapore-based insurance broker. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, subject to certain closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The acquisition will enable Bridge Specialty International to establish a presence in the important Singapore insurance hub and expand its Asia platform, which currently comprises Capstone Insurance Brokers Limited, a Hong Kong-based specialist financial lines and digital asset insurance specialist. Acorn and Capstone will work closely together to grow in their areas of specialization in both Singapore and Hong Kong.