Watson Wyatt & Co. Holdings

1717 H St. NW

Year founded: 1946

Industry: Consulting/professional services

Post 200 Category: Top 125 Companies

Revenue: $702.01 Million

Net Income/Loss: $50.59 Million

Earnings per share: $1.52

Dividend: $0.30

Stockholder equity: $245.18 Million

Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Stock: WW

Assets: $512.17 Million

Market capitalization: $891.18 Million

52-week high: 28.38 3/18/2005

52-week low: 24.05 8/13/2004

President and CEO: John J. Haley

CFO: Carl D. Mautz

Employees: 3700

Local employees: 480

Description: Watson Wyatt is a global consulting firm focusing on retirement benefits and compensation planning for companies.

Developments: In January, Watson Wyatt, the principal subsidiary of Watson Wyatt & Co. Holdings, announced plans to merge with its European business partner, Watson Wyatt LLP. The Washington-based company owns about 20 percent of British-based Watson Wyatt LLP, and intends to buy the rest for $451 million in cash and stock. The two firms have operated an alliance since 1995 as Watson Wyatt Worldwide. The combined firm will have more than $1.1 billion in sales and more than 6,000 employees in 30 countries. Watson Wyatt's profit and revenue slipped in its fiscal 2004, which ended June 30, compared with the prior year. Profit and revenue have picked up in the two quarters since, compared with the same periods in the year before, and the company's executives say they hope the merger will boost opportunities for growth this year. Executives have told analysts that they expect revenue for fiscal 2005 to be up 2 to 4 percent over last year.