Experian Trading Update, Firs

RNS Number : 7181A

Experian plc

14 October 2009

 



news release

Trading update, first half

Experian, the global information services company, today issues an update on trading for the six months to 30 September 2009.

Commenting on the performance of Experian, Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"I am pleased to announce that Experian delivered growth in line with our expectations during the first half, even though conditions in some markets remained challenging. At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth for the quarter was 1%, with organic revenue growth also of 1%.

"As we look forward, the external environment varies considerably across our major markets. North America is showing signs of stability, the UK remains weak, while market conditions in Brazil are improving. We are not relying on market recovery and continue to invest in numerous initiatives to drive growth. For the year as a whole, we remain on track to at least maintain margins, grow profits at constant currency and deliver strong cash flow conversion."

Experian plc 

% change in revenue year-on-year for the six months to 30 September 2009

Continuing activities only1	Total growth        %	Total growth %	Organic growth  %
	At actual exchange rates2	At constant exchange rates	At constant exchange rates
North America	(1)	(1)	(2)
Latin America	(3)	14	14
UK and Ireland	(18)	-	-
EMEA/Asia Pacific	(3)	5	-
Experian	(6)	1	1

1 Continuing activities exclude the contributions of UK account processing and other smaller discontinuing activities 

2 Experian is reporting in US dollars

In the six months to 30 September 2009, revenue from continuing activities at Experian increased by 1% at constant exchange rates. Group organic revenue growth was 1% year-on-year, with fairly consistent trends throughout the half (Q1 +1%, Q2 +1%). By principal activity, organic revenue increased by 12% at Interactive and by 1% at Credit Services. Organic revenue declined by 8% at Decision Analytics and by 7% at Marketing Services. 

  North America

Total revenue from continuing activities in North America declined by 1%. Organic revenue declined by 2%. There was a small contribution from SearchAmerica (acquired in December 2008). 

Organic revenue at Credit Services declined by 7%. While consumer information origination volumes remained depressed, business information performed well, benefiting from strength in account management, while automotive remained weak. Organic revenue declined by 5% at Decision Analytics due to long sales cycles. Market conditions at Marketing Services remained challenging due to retail client spending cutbacks. Organic revenue declined by 14%, with depressed conditions for traditional marketing partially offset by continued growth in new media marketing. Interactive performed well, delivering organic revenue growth of 8%. There was good growth at Consumer Direct, driven by strength in subscriptions, as well as improvement within the education vertical and PriceGrabber.  

Latin America

Revenue for Latin America increased by 14% at constant exchange rates. Organic revenue growth was also 14%.

Organic revenue at Credit Services rose by 15%. Both consumer and business information performed strongly, driven by growth in demand for value-added services and account management and collections products, as well as deeper penetration of the small and medium enterprise channel. At Decision Analytics and Marketing Services, organic revenue declined from a low base.

UK and Ireland

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth in UK and Ireland was flat. Organic revenue growth was also flat. 

Organic revenue at Credit Services declined by 5%, due to ongoing weakness in credit origination activity and the impact of financial services sector consolidation. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue declined by 8%, reflecting lower transaction volumes and continued deferrals in decision-making linked to financial services budgetary constraints. Organic revenue at Marketing Services declined by 3%. New media marketing continued to perform well, helping to mitigate ongoing weakness across traditional activities. Interactive grew strongly, up 51%, driven by growth in subscriptions. 

EMEA/Asia Pacific

At constant exchange rates, total revenue in EMEA/Asia Pacific increased by 5%. Organic revenue growth was flat, with KreditInform in South Africa (acquired in December 2008) contributing the balance.

Organic revenue growth at Credit Services was 5%, with growth across both established and emerging markets. Against a strong comparative, organic revenue at Decision Analytics declined by 12%. This reflected delays in customer decisions for software deliveries, although the pipeline remains strong. Marketing Services' organic revenue growth was 7%, reflecting strong progress across emerging markets within new media activities in Europe and across the Asia Pacific region. 

Future announcements

Experian will issue its half-yearly financial report on 18 November 2009.

Contact:

Experian

Paul Brooks                       Chief Financial Officer              [phone] 

Nadia Ridout-Jamieson     Director of Investor Relations

Alex Brog                            Head of Media Relations

Finsbury

Rollo Head                                                                           [phone]
Don Hunter

This announcement is available on the Experian website, http://www.experianplc.com. There will be two conference calls today to discuss this update, at 9.00am and 3.00pm (UK time). Both will be broadcast live on the website with a recording available later.

All financial information is based on unaudited management accounts. Certain statements made in this trading update are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any expected future events or results referred to in these forward-looking statements. 

Total growth: this is the year-on-year change in the performance of Experian's activities. Total growth at constant exchange rates removes the translational foreign exchange effects arising on consolidation of Experian's activities.

Organic growth: this is the year-on-year change in continuing activities revenue, at constant transactional and translation exchange rates, excluding acquisitions (other than affiliate credit bureaux) until the first anniversary date of consolidation.

About Experian 
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft. 

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2009 was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil.  

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

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