Gallagher Australia and New Zealand broking operations performed strongly in the third quarter amid a firming rate environment in major markets, President and CEO Patrick Gallagher said.

The group’s Australia and New Zealand unit had “a really terrific quarter” with growth of 7%, Mr Gallagher told an earnings call. The UK and Canada delivered gains of about 4.5%.

“My recent meetings with insurance carriers and our business leaders around the globe, confirmed that we continue to operate in an increasing P&C rate environment,” he said.

CFO Douglas Howell says Gallagher sees plenty of opportunity for further bolt-on acquisitions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK.

“Frankly, I think we might have 25% of the market already down in New Zealand, but surprisingly there [are] a lot of little brokers still that we have the ability to partner up with there,” he told an earnings conference call.

Gallagher’s global core brokerage and risk management segments reported 11% revenue growth in the quarter, including 5.9% from existing operations.

Total net earnings rose to $US138.4 million ($195.1 million) in the quarter from $US118.1 million ($166.5 million) in the year-earlier period, while revenues gained to $US1.74 billion ($2.45 billion) from $US1.56 billion  ($2.2 billion).