BROWN & BROWN’S INCOME JUMPS 27% ON COMMISSIONS AND FEES

US broking group Brown & Brown saw fourth-quarter net earnings rise 27% to $97.3m as commissions and fees grew 10.9% to $640m. Adjusted income per share rose to 32¢ from 28¢ and beat analysts’ forecast of 29¢. The rise in commissions and fees was driven in part by acquisitions, which accounted for $40.4m of the total versus zero a year earlier. Organic commissions and fees grew 4.7% to $581.4m. For all of 2019, the Florida-based group’s net income rose 21% to $480.5m on total commissions and fees of $2.61bn, up 9.3%. Organic commissions and fees for the year grew 3.8% to $2.38bn. “We are very proud of our results in a year that challenged everyone globally,” said Brown & Brown president and chief executive J Powell Brown. “We delivered good organic growth and margin expansion for the quarter and the full year.”