Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 6215Z

Experian plc

18 January 2011

 



news release

Interim Management Statement, third quarter

18 January 2011 ─ Experian, the global information services company, today issues an Interim Management Statement that includes an update on trading for the three months to 31 December 2010.

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

"We are pleased to have delivered another strong performance in the third quarter. At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth was 12%, with organic revenue growth of 8%.

"We have now returned to positive growth across all regions and principal activities. Our performance was driven by delivery against our strategy and helped by gradual recovery in our core markets. For the year as a whole our expectations are unchanged. We continue to expect similar rates of organic revenue growth to the first half, and we are targeting modest improvement in our EBIT margin."

 

Experian plc

% change in revenue year-on-year for the three months to 31 December 2010

Continuing activities only1	Total growth       %	Total growth %	Organic growth %
	At actual exchange rates2	At constant exchange rates	At constant exchange rates
North America	13	13	7
Latin America	24	18	18
UK and Ireland	1	4	4
EMEA/Asia Pacific	12	14	7
Experian	12	12	8

1 Continuing activities exclude some UK hosted database activities, UK mortgage software activities and other smaller discontinuing items

2 Experian reports in US dollars

In the three months to 31 December 2010, total revenue from continuing activities at Experian increased by 12% at constant exchange rates. Group organic revenue growth was 8% year-on-year. By principal activity, organic revenue increased by 7% at Credit Services, by 7% at Decision Analytics, by 11% at Marketing Services and by 9% at Interactive.  

North America

Total revenue growth in North America was 13%, with organic revenue up 7%. The difference relates to the acquisition of Mighty Net (acquired September 2010).

Organic revenue growth at Credit Services was 5%. Consumer information delivered modest growth, helped by gradual recovery in origination activity. There was good progress across automotive and business information, as new products gain traction. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue growth was 1%, with good performances in analytics and fraud prevention. At Marketing Services, organic revenue growth was 9%, driven by strong demand for digital services. Organic revenue growth at Interactive was 9%. The transition to new brands at Consumer Direct is proceeding well and the business returned to modest organic growth in the quarter. As expected, while still strong, there was some moderation in lead generation growth against strong comparables, while PriceGrabber performed well in its seasonally significant third quarter.

Latin America

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth was 18% in Latin America. Organic revenue growth was also 18%.

Organic revenue growth at Credit Services was 16%. This was driven by strong performances across both consumer information and business information, primarily reflecting strength in credit reference volumes and new customer acquisition in the SME channel. Organic revenue growth at Decision Analytics was 86%, off a low base. Meanwhile, Marketing Services is gaining traction, with organic revenue growth of 57%, benefiting from new product introductions in the region.

UK and Ireland

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth in UK and Ireland was 4%. Organic revenue growth was also 4%.

Organic revenue at Credit Services declined 1%. New business wins and some stabilisation in credit volumes helped to drive growth in business information, largely offsetting a decline in consumer information. Decision Analytics recovered, delivering organic revenue growth of 10%, reflecting strength in analytics and fraud prevention, some recovery in software and delivery of new public sector projects. Organic revenue growth at Marketing Services was 2%, as client budgets stabilise. At Interactive, organic revenue growth was 9%, reflecting a combination of increased membership base and enhanced retention rates at CreditExpert.

EMEA/Asia Pacific

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth for EMEA/Asia Pacific was 14%. Organic revenue growth was 7%. The difference related to A-Care Systems in Japan (acquired December 2009).

At Credit Services, organic revenue declined 3%, reflecting weak conditions in developed markets. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue growth was 5%, as revenues continue to build across emerging Europe and Asia Pacific. There was an exceptionally strong performance at Marketing Services, which delivered organic revenue growth of 24%, reflecting good take-up of new products and strong client appetite for digital services.

Gross proceeds of US$314m were received on 31 December 2010 relating to the previously announced divestment of Experian's stake in the FARES joint venture. Following payment of tax, Experian expects net proceeds to be approximately US$250m. Other than this item, and as disclosed in this Interim Management Statement, there has been no change since 30 September 2010 to Experian's general financial position, which remains strong, and no material change to Experian's trading position to the date of this statement.

Future events

Experian will host an investor seminar on 27 January 2011 in London and on 28 January 2011 in New York. Experian will announce its preliminary results on 18 May 2011.

Contact:

Experian

Paul Brooks                            Chief Financial Officer                 [phone]

Nadia Ridout-Jamieson          Director of Investor Relations

James Russell                        Public Relations Director

Finsbury

Rollo Head                                                                                    [phone]

Don Hunter

This announcement is available on the Experian website, http://www.experianplc.com. There will be a conference call today to discuss this update at 9.00am (UK time), which 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 Interim Management Statement 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.

Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website), is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 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 2010 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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