Aon plc (AON) saw its profit drop in the fourth quarter from the same period in the previous year, failing to meet the estimates set by financial pundits. The company posted earnings of $498 million or $2.47 per share, compared to $657 million or $3.14 per share during last year's fourth quarter.
However, if special financial considerations are factored out, Aon's adjusted earnings stood at $785 million or $3.89 per share for that period. Analysts, on average, predicted that the company would earn $4.06 per share - a figure gleaned from data compiled by Thomson Reuters. As is usual, these estimates did not include special items.
Aon did see a revenue increase for the quarter, rising by 8% to reach $3.38 billion, up from $3.13 billion in the previous year.
To give a quick summary of Aon's earnings using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the fourth-quarter earnings were $498 million, down from $657 million last year, and the Earnings Per Share were $2.47, down from $3.14 last year. Analysts had estimated an earning of $4.06 per share. Quarter four revenues rose to $3.38 billion from $3.13 billion in the same period last year.
