WTW off to ‘solid start’ with largest hiring spree since 2019

Global re/insurance broker  WTW (Willis Towers Watson) scooped up talent from the market “at fastest rate since 2019” and made significant progress towards cost savings from transformation in the first three months of the year, the company’s Q1 earnings report has revealed.

WTW’s hiring activity in the first quarter of 2022 was up 23% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 – reaching the highest level since 2019. At the same time, its voluntary terminations in the quarter declined by 19%.

WTW chief executive officer Carl Hess (pictured) said the first quarter marked a “solid start to the year” with results “in line with expectations” and reflecting overall improved momentum across the business.

“During the quarter, we continued to make significant progress across our strategic priorities,” Hess remarked. “We launched innovative new products, hired at our fastest rate since 2019, simplified our reporting structure, and made headway on transforming our cost structure.”

Besides improving hiring and attrition to overcome some breakage seen during the integration of its failed $30 billion merger deal with Aon, the company claims to have made “significant progress” towards realising the planned $30 million of run-rate cost savings from transformation initiatives in 2022.

The transformation programme has generated an incremental $16 million in total run-rate savings in the quarter, the company said, while incurring $11 million in restructuring charges and $3 million in capital expenditures.

WTW has reported a 3% decline in total revenue ($2.16 billion) for the first quarter of 2022, compared with $2.23 billion for the same period in the prior year. However, saw a 2% increase on an organic basis.

Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 was $518 million, up 6% compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $488 million in the prior-year first quarter.

In March, WTW announced its intention to transfer ownership of its Russian subsidiary to local management, who will operate independently in the Russian market.

Upon deconsolidating, WTW recorded a non-cash loss on disposal of $57 million, and a non-cash impairment charge of $81 million related to its Russian business during the quarter.

WTW repurchased 9.9 million shares for $2.3 billion, achieving the $4 billion near-term share repurchase target set at Investor Day.

“Going forward, we believe we are well-positioned for success, with our industry-leading solutions and teams helping our clients address their most pressing needs in a volatile economic environment,” Hess said.

“We believe we remain on track to achieve our 2022 financial targets and are confident in our ability to deliver on our long-term goals for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” he concluded.

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