Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW), a leading global advisory,
broking and solutions company, will outline its strategy to drive
long-term growth and value creation for shareholders at its
Investor Day today.
“Our distinctive mix of highly complementary businesses, scale
and global reach has delivered superior value to our clients,
colleagues and shareholders,” said John Haley, Willis Towers
Watson’s chief executive officer. “I am confident that – under the
leadership of Carl Hess and his highly-accomplished global
leadership team – our strategy sets the course to accelerate our
performance as an independent company and positions Willis Towers
Watson for a bold new future.”
Carl Hess, president and future chief executive officer, added,
“The central priorities of our strategy – grow, simplify and
transform – build upon our core strengths, with a focus on driving
sustainable revenue growth, improved operating margins and higher
free cash flow conversion. We are committed to a disciplined
capital allocation policy, beginning with a plan to return $4+
billion to shareholders through share buybacks by fiscal year-end
2022. We have a world-class team and are energized and focused as
we execute our strategy to capture the significant opportunities
ahead.”
At today’s event, Willis Towers Watson will outline the key
drivers of its strategy to build from its strengths, unlock
shareholder value and achieve financial leadership. These drivers
include:
- Grow at or above market in priority areas.
Focus on core opportunities with the highest growth and return,
including gaining market share in Risk and Broking and Individual
Marketplace; innovating and evolving our offerings in markets such
as defined contribution and wealth management; expediting
capabilities in fast growth markets like health insurance markets,
cyber and climate; and bringing targeted solutions to clients
reflecting more connected offerings.
- Simplify the business to increase agility and
effectiveness. Streamline operational structure, develop a
globally consistent client model and enhance growth operations to
improve sales and retention outcomes. This includes an agile
decision-making process to increase speed of execution.
- Transform operations to drive savings while enhancing
our client and colleague experiences. Drive $300+ million
in expected cost reductions to contribute 300 bps of margin
improvement toward a fiscal year 2024 margin target through
maximizing global platforms, right-shoring operations,
rationalizing real estate and modernizing IT.
Three-Year Financial TargetsWillis Towers
Watson will provide an update on its financial targets to reflect
the company's growth strategy and commitment to driving shareholder
value. By year-end fiscal 2024, the company expects to:
- Grow its revenues to $10+ billion by delivering growth in the
mid-single digit range or greater, with reinvestment in
differentiated solutions and scalable innovation, while continuing
to capture market share.
- Improve margins to 24-25% through $300+ million net run-rate
savings driven by transformation and efficiency initiatives, as
well as operating leverage as the business grows.
- Generate higher free cash flow conversion to deliver $5-6
billion in free cash flow which when combined with the after-tax
proceeds from the Willis Re divestiture and current cash balances
will give the company $10-11 billion of available cash by 2024 to
help drive shareholder value.
- Return significant capital to shareholders beginning with the
execution of $4+ billion in share buybacks during fiscal years
2021-2022, all while maintaining the agility to invest in bolt-on
opportunities to accelerate growth, acquire industry-leading
capabilities and support our world-class team.
- Achieve adjusted EPS of at least $18-21 per share and deliver
industry leading total shareholder return.
Additional information will be shared during the Investor Day.
Presenters will include: John Haley, chief executive officer; Carl
Hess, president and future chief executive officer; Andrew Krasner,
chief financial officer; Mike Burwell, former chief financial
officer; Adam Garrard, head of Risk and Broking; Julie Gebauer,
head of Health, Wealth and Career; and Gene Wickes, head of
Benefits Delivery and Administration – Health, Wealth and
Career.
Webcast and MaterialsThe Company’s Investor Day
will be webcast live today, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The webcast and presentation can be accessed via the Willis Towers
Watson investor relations page at investors.willistowerswatson.com.
The replay of the Investor Day will be available shortly after the
live presentation.
About Willis Towers Watson Willis Towers Watson
(NASDAQ: WLTW) is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions
company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path
for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has
45,000 employees serving more than 140 countries and markets. We
design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits,
cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and
strengthen institutions and individuals. Our unique perspective
allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets
and ideas — the dynamic formula that drives business performance.
Together, we unlock potential. Learn more at
willistowerswatson.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis document
contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify
these statements and other forward-looking statements in this
document by words such as “may”, “will”, “would”, “expect”,
“anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “plan”, “intend”, “continue”,
or similar words, expressions or the negative of such terms or
other comparable terminology.
These statements include, but are not limited to, such things as
our outlook, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business,
future capital expenditures, ongoing working capital efforts,
future share repurchases, financial results (including our
revenue), the impact of changes to tax laws on our financial
results, existing and evolving business strategies and acquisitions
and dispositions, 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
organizational and technology changes, including investments in
improving systems and processes, and plans and references to future
successes, including our future financial and operating results,
plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements
that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the
current beliefs and expectations of Willis Towers Watson’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
herein, including the following: our ability to successfully
establish, execute and achieve our global business strategy as it
evolves; changes in demand for our services, including any decline
in consulting services, defined benefit pension plans or the
purchasing of insurance; the risks related to changes in general
economic, business and political conditions, including changes in
the financial markets and inflation; the risks relating to the
adverse impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic 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 or arising from the
termination of the business combination with Aon plc announced in
March 2020 and the divestitures contemplated in connection
therewith, including, among others, risks relating to the impact of
such terminations on relationships, including with suppliers,
customers, employees and regulators, risks relating to litigation
in connection with the business combination and the impact of the
costs of the business combination that will be borne by us, despite
the business combination being terminated and the payment of the
termination fee; 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; 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
(including our ability to close the planned divestiture of our
Willis Re business) 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 potential 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; 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; 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
policy changes from the new Presidential administration and
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 and any policy
changes from the new Presidential administration and legislative
actions from the current U.S. Congress; U.S. federal income tax
consequences to U.S. persons owning at least 10% of our shares;
changes in accounting principles, estimates or assumptions;
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.willistowerswatson.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 document, 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.
The Company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP
financial measures to the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures, due to
variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and
projections and/or certain information not being ascertainable or
accessible; and because not all of the information, such as foreign
currency impacts necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of
these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most
directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is available to
the Company without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the
Company is unable to address the probable significance of the
unavailable information. The Company provides non-GAAP financial
measures that it believes will be achieved, however it cannot
accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted
calculations and the U.S. GAAP measures may be materially different
than the non-GAAP measures.
PR Contact:Miles
RussellMiles.russell@willistowerswatson.com+44 (0) 7903262118
Josh WozmanJosh.wozman@willistowerswatson.com +1 415 318
6441
Investor Relations Contact:Claudia De La
HozClaudia.delahoz@willistowerswatson.com+1 215 246 6221
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