Marsh & McLennan says its third-quarter net income jumped 8.7% to $US323 million ($454.92 million).

The risk and insurance services giant recorded $US3.12 billion ($4.39 billion) in consolidated revenue for the three months, down 1% on the corresponding period last year.

Operating income grew to $US461 million ($649.52 million) from $US445 million ($626.76 million).

CEO Dan Glaser says he is pleased with the results in “a challenging macro-environment”.

“We produced underlying revenue growth in the third quarter and year-to-date across all operating companies, along with higher adjusted operating income and margin expansion,” he said.

Insurance broker Marsh’s revenue in the third quarter was $US1.3 billion ($1.83 billion), up 2% on an underlying basis.

Marsh CEO Peter Zaffino says last year’s 5% increase was hard to beat, given it was the highest underlying growth the company had reported in 12 quarters.

“The 2% is not what we believe will be our medium and long-term growth rates, but overall when I look at the core underlying parts of the business – new business, client retention – it is very strong,” Mr Zaffino said.

The US and Canada division of Marsh reported underlying revenue growth of 2%, led by the Marsh & McLennan Agency, which has made 50 acquisitions since 2009.

The Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific divisions each grew 1%, and Latin America grew 6%.

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter’s third-quarter revenue was $US261million ($365.46 million), up 2% on an underlying basis.

It says the US and EMEA were areas of strength, driven by good retention rates and new business wins in treaty.