Global broker Willis Group Holdings has reported net income of $US210 million ($264 million) for the first quarter of this year, down 15% on the corresponding period last year.

CEO Dominic Casserley says it is a “solid start” given market conditions “best described as uneven”.

“Overall, we’ve started the year with very good momentum,” he said.

“While we expect market conditions in certain parts of our business to remain challenging throughout the year, we believe… we are well positioned to build shareholder value as the year goes on.”

First-quarter fee and commission revenue fell 0.9% to $US1.08 billion ($1.36 billion).

Excluding the impact of foreign currency movements, Willis says underlying revenue grew 5.8%.