Willis Towers Watson 10-Q 2022-03-31

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022

OR

For the transition period from to ___________

Commission File Number: 001-16503

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of ‘large accelerated filer’, ‘accelerated filer’, ‘smaller reporting company’, and ‘emerging growth company’ in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No 

As of April 25, 2022, there were outstanding 111,488,239 ordinary shares, nominal value $0.000304635 per share, of the registrant.

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

INDEX TO FORM 10-Q

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2022

Certain De****finitions

The following definitions apply throughout this quarterly report unless the context requires otherwise:

Disclaimer Regarding For****ward-looking Statements

We have included in this document ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including such things as our outlook, the impact of the global pandemic on our business, future capital expenditures, ongoing working capital efforts, future share repurchases, financial results (including our revenue, costs or margins), the impact of changes to tax laws on our financial results, existing and evolving business strategies and acquisitions and dispositions, including the sale of Willis Re to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (‘Gallagher’), demand for our services and competitive strengths, goals, the benefits of new initiatives, growth of our business and operations, our ability to successfully manage ongoing leadership, organizational and technology changes, including investments in improving systems and processes, our ability to implement and realize anticipated benefits of any cost-savings initiatives including the multi-year operational Transformation program, and plans and references to future successes, including our future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions are forward-looking statements. Also, when we use words such as ‘may,’ ‘will,’ ‘would,’ ‘anticipate,’ ‘believe,’ ‘estimate,’ ‘expect,’ ‘intend,’ ‘plan,’ ‘continues,’ ‘seek,’ ‘target,’ ‘focus,’ ‘probably,’ or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking disclosure is speculative by its nature.

There are important risks, uncertainties, events and factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, including the following:

our ability to successfully establish, execute and achieve our global business strategy as it evolves;

our ability to fully realize anticipated benefits of our growth strategy;

our ability to successfully deploy cost-mitigation measures and achieve longer-term offsets;

the risks related to changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets and inflation;

the risks to our business, financial condition and results of operations that may be materially adversely affected by any negative impact on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflict in Ukraine or any other geopolitical tensions and the intended withdrawal from our businesses in Russia;

the risks relating to the adverse impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including supply chain, workforce availability, vaccination rates, new or emerging variants and further social-distancing orders in jurisdictions where we do business, on the demand for our products and services, our cash flows and our business operations, including increased demand on our information technology resources and systems and related risks of cybersecurity breaches or incidents;

the risks relating to the sale of Willis Re to Gallagher, including incremental business, operational and regulatory risks created by transitional arrangements and pending transactions;

significant competition that we face and the potential for loss of market share and/or profitability;

the impact of seasonality and differences in timing of renewals and non-recurring revenue increases from disposals and book-of-business sales;

the failure to protect client data or breaches of information systems or insufficient safeguards against cybersecurity breaches or incidents;

the risk of increased liability or new legal claims arising from our new and existing products and services, and expectations, intentions and outcomes relating to outstanding litigation;

the risk of substantial negative outcomes on existing litigation or investigation matters;

changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including, among other risks, the impacts of pending competition law and regulatory investigations;

various claims, government inquiries or investigations or the potential for regulatory action;

our ability to make divestitures or acquisitions and our ability to integrate or manage such acquired businesses;

our ability to successfully hedge against fluctuations in foreign currency rates;

our ability to integrate direct-to-consumer sales and marketing solutions with our existing offerings and solutions;

our ability to comply with complex and evolving regulations related to data privacy and cyber security;

our ability to successfully manage ongoing organizational changes, including investments in improving systems and processes;

disasters or business continuity problems;

the impact of Brexit;

our ability to successfully enhance our billing, collection and other working capital efforts, and thereby increase our free cash flow;

the impact of the anticipated replacement of the London Interbank Offered Rate (‘LIBOR’);

our ability to properly identify and manage conflicts of interest;

reputational damage, including from association with third parties;

reliance on third-party services;

risks relating to changes in our management structures and in senior leadership;

the loss of key employees or a large number of employees;

doing business internationally, including the impact of exchange rates;

compliance with extensive government regulation;

the risk of sanctions imposed by governments, or changes to associated sanction regulations (such as sanctions imposed on Russia) and related counter-sanctions;

our ability to effectively apply technology, data and analytics changes for internal operations, maintaining industry standards and meeting client preferences;

changes and developments in the insurance industry or the U.S. healthcare system, including those related to Medicare and any legislative actions from the current U.S. Congress;

the inability to protect the Company’s intellectual property rights, or the potential infringement upon the intellectual property rights of others;

fluctuations in our pension assets and liabilities;

our capital structure, including indebtedness amounts, the limitations imposed by the covenants in the documents governing such indebtedness and the maintenance of the financial and disclosure controls and procedures of each;

our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all;

adverse changes in our credit ratings;

the impact of recent or potential changes to U.S. or foreign tax laws, including on our effective tax rate, and the enactment of additional, or the revision of existing, state, federal, and/or foreign regulatory and tax laws and regulations, development of case law, other regulations and any policy changes and legislative actions;

U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. persons owning at least 10% of our shares;

changes in accounting principles, estimates or assumptions;

risks relating to or arising from environmental, social and governance (‘ESG’) practices;

fluctuation in revenue against our relatively fixed or higher than expected expenses;

the laws of Ireland being different from the laws of the U.S. and potentially affording less protections to the holders of our securities; and

our holding company structure potentially preventing us from being able to receive dividends or other distributions in needed amounts from our subsidiaries.

The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and new factors may emerge from time to time that could also affect actual performance and results. For more information, please see Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. Copies are available online at http://www.sec.gov or www.wtwco.com.

Although we believe that the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions, and therefore also the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions, could themselves prove to be inaccurate. Given the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our inclusion of this information is not a representation or guarantee by us that our objectives and plans will be achieved.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we will not update these forward-looking statements unless the securities laws require us to do so. With regard to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur, and we caution you against unduly relying on these forward-looking statements.

PART I. FINANCI****AL INFORMATION

WILLIS TOWE****RS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Condensed Consolidated Statem****ents of Comprehensive Income

(In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Condensed Consolida****ted Balance Sheets

(In millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)

(Unaudited)

(i)

Equity includes (a) Ordinary shares $0.000304635 nominal value; Authorized 1,510,003,775; Issued 112,212,590 (2022) and 122,055,815 (2021); Outstanding 112,212,590 (2022) and 122,055,815 (2021) and (b) Preference shares, $0.000115 nominal value; Authorized 1,000,000,000 and Issued none in 2022 and 2021.

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Condensed Consolidated S****tatements of Cash Flows

(In millions of U.S. dollars)

(Unaudited)

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This discussion includes forward-looking statements. See ‘Disclaimer Regarding Forward-looking Statements’ for certain cautionary information regarding forward-looking statements and a list of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in those statements.

This discussion includes references to non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the rules of the SEC. We present such non-GAAP financial measures, specifically, adjusted, constant currency and organic non-GAAP financial measures, as we believe such information is of interest to the investment community because it provides additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent under U.S. GAAP, and these provide a measure against which our businesses may be assessed in the future.

See ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ below for further discussion of our adjusted, constant currency and organic non-GAAP financial measures.

Executive Overview

Market Conditions

Typically, our business benefits from regulatory change, political risk or economic uncertainty. Insurance broking generally tracks the economy, but demand for both insurance broking and consulting services usually remains steady during times of uncertainty. We have some businesses, such as our health and benefits and administration businesses, which can be counter cyclical during the early period of a significant economic change.

Within our insurance and brokerage business, due to the cyclical nature of the insurance market and the impact of other market conditions on insurance premiums, commission revenue may vary widely between accounting periods. A period of low or declining premium rates, generally known as a ‘soft’ or ‘softening’ market, generally leads to downward pressure on commission revenue and can have a material adverse impact on our revenue and operating margin. A ‘hard’ or ‘firming’ market, during which premium rates rise, generally has a favorable impact on our revenue and operating margin. Rates, however, vary by geography, industry and client segment. As a result, and due to the global and diverse nature of our business, we view rates in the aggregate. Overall, we are currently seeing a modest but definite increase in pricing in the market.

Market conditions in the broking industry in which we operate are generally defined by factors such as the strength of the economies in the various geographic regions in which we serve around the world, insurance rate movements, and insurance and reinsurance buying patterns of our clients.

The markets for our consulting, technology and solutions, and marketplace services are affected by economic, regulatory and legislative changes, technological developments, and increased competition from established and new competitors. We believe that the primary factors in selecting a human resources or risk management consulting firm include reputation, the ability to provide measurable increases to shareholder value and return on investment, global scale, quality of service and the ability to tailor services to clients’ unique needs. In that regard, we are focused on developing and implementing technology, data and analytic solutions for both internal operations and for maintaining industry standards and meeting client preferences. We have made such investments from time to time and may decide, based on perceived business needs, to make investments in the future that may be different from past practice or what we currently anticipate.

With regard to the market for exchanges, we believe that clients base their decisions on a variety of factors that include the ability of the provider to deliver measurable cost savings for clients, a strong reputation for efficient execution and an innovative service delivery model and platform. Part of the employer-sponsored insurance market has matured and become more fragmented while other segments remain in the entry phase. As these market segments continue to evolve, we may experience growth in intervals, with periods of accelerated expansion balanced by periods of modest growth. In recent years, growth in the market for exchanges has slowed, and we expect this trend may continue.

From time to time, including but not limited to the period after the announcement of the proposed Aon combination through the period that has followed the termination of the proposed combination, we have lost (and may in the future continue to lose) colleagues who manage substantial client relationships or possess substantial experience or expertise; when we lose colleagues such as those, it often results in such colleagues competing against us. Further, the full impact of this competition may be delayed due to the timing of restrictive covenants or client renewals. We believe that this dynamic, which was most pronounced in our Risk & Broking segment during 2021, has caused the segment’s recent near-term and expected growth rates for the remainder of 2022 to be meaningfully slower than other competitors. This dynamic may be difficult to predict, given that the adverse impact in future periods is more significant than in the periods in which employees departed. Growth has been and will be adversely affected by the fact that 2021 performance in a number of businesses, particularly commercial risk broking and health & benefits broking, benefited from revenue

from book sales, which is non-repeatable revenue. It is possible that growth could be different than expected and our results of operations could be significantly and adversely impacted. See Part I, Item 1A ‘Risk Factors’ in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2022, for a discussion of risks that may affect our ability to compete.

As we previously reported, we intend to transfer ownership of our Russian subsidiary to our local management team. The Russian entity comprised approximately 1% of consolidated WTW revenue for 2021, primarily within our Risk & Broking segment. The lost profits from our Russia operations will, overall, create a modest margin headwind for the Company in 2022 and beyond. However, with the goal of offsetting this, we have taken action to deploy near-term cost-mitigation measures and to identify longer-term offsets. See ‘Disclaimer Regarding Forward-looking Statements’ and Part II, Item 1A ‘Risk Factors’ of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a discussion of the risks associated with expense actions.

Risks and Uncertainties of the Economic Environment Caused by the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on global commercial activity, particularly on the global supply chain and workforce availability, and has contributed to significant volatility in the global financial markets including, among other effects, occasional declines in the equity markets, changes in interest rates and reduced liquidity on a global basis.

Supply and labor market disruptions caused by COVID-19 as well as other factors, such as accommodative monetary and fiscal policy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have contributed to significant inflation in many of the markets in which we operate. This impacts not only the costs to attract and retain employees but also other costs to run and invest in our business. If our costs grow significantly in excess of our ability to raise revenue, our margins and results of operations may be materially and adversely impacted, and we may not be able to achieve our strategic and financial objectives.

Although we believe we have adapted to the unique challenges posed by the pandemic surrounding how and where we do our work, we are also impacted by the negative effect on workforce availability, which could hamper our ability to grow our capacity on pace with increasing demand for our services. We expect the market for talent to remain highly competitive for at least the next several

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We have considered changes in our exposure to market risks during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and have determined that there have been no material changes to our exposure to market risks from those described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2022. However, we have provided the following information to supplement or update our disclosures on our Form 10-K.

Interest Income on Fiduciary Funds

As described in our Form 10-K, we are exposed to interest rate risk. Specifically, as a result of our operating activities, we receive cash for premiums and claims which we deposit in short-term investments denominated in U.S. dollars and other currencies. We earn interest on these funds, which is included in our condensed consolidated financial statements as interest income. These funds are regulated in terms of access and the instruments in which they may be invested, most of which are short-term in maturity. At March 31, 2022, we held $1.6 billion of fiduciary funds invested in interest-bearing accounts. If short-term interest rates increased or decreased by 25 basis points, interest earned on these invested fiduciary funds, and therefore our interest income recognized, would increase or decrease by approximately $4 million on an annualized basis.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of March 31, 2022, the Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer (‘CEO’) and the Chief Financial Officer (‘CFO’), of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e). Based upon that evaluation, the CEO and the CFO concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that the information required to be included in the Company’s periodic SEC filings is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the CEO and the CFO, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Most of our employees who are involved in our financial reporting processes and controls continue to work remotely following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and are expected to do so for the foreseeable future. COVID-19 has not had any specific impact to the design or operating effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting.

Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls

Management, including the CEO and CFO, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will necessarily prevent all errors and all fraud. However, management does expect that the control system provides reasonable assurance that its objectives will be met. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, cannot provide absolute assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. In addition, the design of such internal controls must take into account the costs of designing and maintaining such a control system. Certain inherent limitations exist in control systems to make absolute assurances difficult, including the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake, and that individuals can circumvent controls. The design of any control system is based in part upon existing business conditions and risk assessments. There can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in business conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures. As a result, they may require change or revision. Because of the inherent limitations in a control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and may not be detected. Nevertheless, the disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving their stated objectives, and the CEO and CFO have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures are effective at a reasonable assurance level.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are a party to various lawsuits, arbitrations or mediations that arise in the ordinary course of business. The disclosure called for by Part II, Item 1 regarding our legal proceedings is incorporated by reference herein from Part I, Item 1 Note 14 — Commitments and Contingencies - Legal Proceedings of the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.

Except as described below, there are no material changes from risk factors as previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2022. We urge you to read the risk factors contained therein.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected by any negative impact on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflict in Ukraine or any other geopolitical tensions.

U.S. and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the crisis in Ukraine. Although the length and impact of the ongoing situation is highly unpredictable, the crisis in Ukraine could lead to further market disruptions.

Additionally, as we announced on March 13, 2022, we intend to transfer ownership of our Russian subsidiary to local management who will operate independently in the Russian market. In 2021, this business constituted approximately 1% of our consolidated revenue. The transfer is in the process of being documented and implemented, subject to any required regulatory approvals and conditions. We are continuing to monitor the situation in Ukraine and globally and assessing its potential impact on our business.

Sanctions imposed by the U.S., the E.U., the U.K. and other countries, as well as Russian counter-sanctions, are extensive. Additional sanctions and penalties have also been enacted, proposed and/or threatened. Russian actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets. The ramifications of the hostilities and sanctions, however, may not be limited to Russia and Russian companies but may spill over to and negatively impact other regional and global economic markets (including Europe and the United States), companies in other countries (particularly those that have done business with Russia) and various sectors, industries and markets for securities and commodities globally, such as oil and natural gas. Accordingly, the actions discussed above and the potential for a wider conflict could increase financial market volatility, cause severe negative effects on regional and global economic markets, industries, and companies. In addition, Russia may take retaliatory actions and other countermeasures, including cyberattacks and espionage against other countries and companies around the world, which may negatively impact such countries and companies. The extent and duration of the Russian actions or future escalation of such hostilities, the extent and impact of existing and future sanctions, market disruptions and volatility, and the result of any diplomatic negotiations cannot be predicted.

Any of the above-mentioned factors could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. The extent and duration of the crisis, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUI****TY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, no shares were issued by the Company without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The Company is authorized to repurchase shares, by way of redemption or otherwise, and will consider whether to do so from time to time, based on many factors, including market conditions. There are no expiration dates for these repurchase plans or programs.

On February 26, 2020, the board of directors approved a $251 million increase to the existing share repurchase program. On July 26, 2021, the board of directors approved a $1.0 billion increase to the existing share repurchase program, and on September 16, 2021, approved a $4.0 billion increase to the existing share repurchase program. These three increases brought the total approved authorization to $5.5 billion.

The following table presents specified information about the Company’s repurchases of its ordinary shares in the first quarter of 2022 and the Company’s remaining repurchase authority.

At March 31, 2022 the maximum number of shares that may yet be purchased under the existing stock repurchase plan is 6,869,233, with approximately $1.6 billion remaining on the current open-ended repurchase authority granted by the board. An estimate of the maximum number of shares under the existing authorities was determined using the closing price of our ordinary shares on March 31, 2022 of $236.22.

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPO****N SENIOR SECURITIES

None.

ITEM 4. MINE SAF****ETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

None.

EXHIBIT INDEX

• Filed or furnished herewith.

† Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

SIGNAT****URES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.