Aon shows 4Q profit, to repurchase $2 billion in shares

Chicago-based Aon Corp., the largest insurance broker, authorized the repurchase of $2 billion in shares after swinging to a profit in the fourth quarter.

Aon also has operations in the suburbs, including Lake Forest.

Net income of $198 million, or 69 cents a share, compares with a loss of $6 million, or 2 cents, in the year-earlier period, the Chicago-based broker said today in a statement. The $2 billion sum would buy about 51.5 million shares based on yesterday's $38.81 closing price, or about 18 percent of the average 287.8 million shares outstanding in the fourth quarter.

Chief Executive Officer Greg Case is adding to sales with the purchase of Carpenter Moore Insurance Services, announced in October, and the 2008 acquisition of reinsurance broker Benfield Group Ltd. for about $1.4 billion. Brokerage revenue advanced 8 percent in the fourth quarter to $1.7 billion. So-called organic revenue, which excludes gains from acquisitions and currency fluctuation, slipped 1 percent.

The broker's cash flow provides "significant financial flexibility to create shareholder value as highlighted by the repurchase" announcement, Case said in the statement.