No 3 global broker Willis - which recently made a play for much larger competitor Marsh - has surpassed analysts' expectations with full year net income of $US409 million ($457 million).

The company has lodged fourth quarter net income of $US95 million ($106 million), or $US0.66 ($0.74) per share, about 7 cents clear of what the market was expecting, but still 35% down on the final quarter of 2006.

However, Willis is giving signals the worst of its corporate malaise is over, lifting the regular quarterly cash dividend by 4% to $US1.04 ($1.16) per share.

Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 3% to $US639 million ($714 million), while commission and fee growth stagnated as Willis' bearish US operations tied down its European bulls.

The company's operating margin in the fourth quarter improved to 23.6%, taking its full year margin to 24%, up 1.3 percentage points since 2006.

Full year net income fell 9% to $US409 million ($457 million) on increased revenue of $US2.6 billion ($2.9 billion).