LONDON (ShareCast) - The world’s biggest insurance broker, Marsh & McLenna, fell into the red in the first quarter after taking a massive impairment charge on its corporate investigations subsidiary.

Marsh & McLennan reported a net loss of $210m, equivalent to 40 cents a share, for the first quarter after taking a $425m impairment charge in respect of its Kroll subsidiary. In the first quarter of last year Marsh had a net income of $268m (47 cents a share).

Operating earnings excluding the Krull write-down were 46 cents per share, broadly in line with market expectations.

Revenue rose to $3.05bn from $2.81m a year earlier. The revenue figure was higher than expected, with the median forecast among analysts coming in at $2.92bn.

The broker is under pressure from investors to demerge or sell off its Kroll unit but reportedly spurned an approach earlier this month from a private equity firm interested in buying it.

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