Willis Towers Watson, the newly merged $18bn professional-services firm, has posted a first quarter revenue figure of $2.2bn.

The group, formed by a tie-up of Willis Group and Towers Watson at the start of 2016, said the combined figure was 11% higher compared to standalone revenues between January and March last year.

In a statement, the company described the period a “seasonally strong quarter” due to the renewal periods for some lines of business.

Net income totaled $238m for the Nasdaq-quoted company, which offers a mixture of financial advisory services, risk management and insurance brokerage.

“I’m pleased with how our colleagues have come together and laid the ground work for future success,” said chief exec John Haley, commenting on the first set of figures post-merger.

Willis, a European insurance broker, said its international segment had commission and fees of $481m, an increase of 68%, driven by the acquisition of Gras Savoye, which added $235m of revenue in the quarter.

Towers Watson’s risk and financial segment, which provides advice to institutional investors, had revenues of $144m, a decrease of 8%.

That was put down to softness in the consulting pipeline in the Americas and EMEA. 

Another unit, which helps employers revise their retirement benefit strategies, had revenues of $486m.

Sales for its exchange solutions arm totalled $152m, an increase of 57%, primarily as a result of the record 2016 annual enrollment season. 

The group also announced on Friday that Martin Goss has been appointed director of investments for Australia.