Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4652K

Experian plc

15 July 2011

 



news release

Interim Management Statement, first quarter

15 July 2011 ─ Experian, the global information services company, today issues an Interim Management Statement that includes an update on trading for the three months to 30 June  2011.

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

"We have delivered good revenue growth in our first quarter, reflecting continued progress in our growth strategy. At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth from continuing activities was 10%, with organic revenue growth of 6%.

"We expect to continue to deliver good growth in our business and are confident in our strategy and ability to execute. While mindful of the current macro environment, we expect organic revenue growth for the second quarter to be similar to the first quarter. For the full year, we continue to anticipate organic revenue growth in the mid-high single digit range, modest margin improvement and strong cash flow conversion."

 

Experian plc

% change in revenue year-on-year for the three months to 30 June 2011

Continuing activities only1	Total growth       %	Total growth %	Organic growth %
	At actual exchange rates2	At constant exchange rates	At constant exchange rates
North America	6	6	2
Latin America	33	19	19
UK and Ireland	16	6	4
EMEA/Asia Pacific	30	16	7
Experian	15	10	6

1 Continuing activities exclude the contributions of UK Database Marketing and other smaller discontinuing items

2 Experian reports in US dollars

In the three months to 30 June 2011, total revenue from continuing activities at Experian increased by 10% at constant exchange rates. Group organic revenue growth was 6% year-on-year. By principal activity, organic revenue increased by 9% at Credit Services, by 6% at Decision Analytics, and by 10% at Marketing Services. Organic revenue declined by 2% at Interactive, as good growth in Consumer Direct was offset by an anticipated decline in lead generation.

North America

Total revenue growth in North America was 6%, with organic revenue up 2%. The difference relates primarily to the acquisition of Mighty Net (acquired September 2010).

Organic revenue growth at Credit Services was 4%. Growth in consumer information reflected steady progress in prospecting and origination activity. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue growth was 13%, driven by some recovery in software sales and strength in analytics. At Marketing Services, organic revenue growth was 10%, with strong performances across all digital platforms. Organic revenue at Interactive declined 4%. Consumer Direct delivered mid single-digit growth, while the Mighty Net acquisition is now fully integrated and is performing well. As expected, lead generation declined, reflecting a very tough comparable in the education vertical and cutbacks by clients who reduced spending in advance of the introduction of new regulations governing student lending. 

Latin America

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth was 19% in Latin America. Organic revenue growth was also 19%.

Organic revenue growth at Credit Services was 18%, with strong performances across both consumer and business information. Consumer information benefited from good growth across the financial services, retail, telecommunications and automotive verticals, while business information growth reflected new product uptake and further penetration of the SME sector. As expected, one-off revenue from authentication declined in the quarter. Growth at Decision Analytics of 119% reflected good progress in scoring and analytics. At Marketing Services, organic revenue was up 1%. 

UK and Ireland

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth in UK and Ireland was 6%. Organic revenue growth was 4%. The difference relates to the acquisition of Techlightenment (majority stake acquired January 2011).

While credit reference revenue remained weak during the quarter, there was continued recovery in lender appetite for new software installations, as well as growth in demand for value-added products. This resulted in good organic revenue growth at Decision Analytics, up 9%, while Credit Services was down 2%. Marketing Services delivered organic revenue growth of 1%, as strength in digital marketing offset subdued conditions in the public sector vertical. Interactive performed strongly, with organic revenue growth of 15%, reflecting growth in membership revenue.

EMEA/Asia Pacific

At constant exchange rates, total revenue growth for EMEA/Asia Pacific was 16%. Organic revenue growth was 7%. The difference relates primarily to an increase to majority control in the Singapore credit bureau and a small Marketing Services acquisition in China.

Organic revenue growth at Credit Services was 3%, helped by strength in emerging market bureaus and good progress across the telecommunications vertical. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue declined by 10%, reflecting some deferral of decisions in Southern Europe. Marketing Services performed very strongly, delivering organic revenue growth of 24%, driven by strong client appetite for digital services, particularly email.

In May 2011, Experian signed a definitive agreement to acquire the majority of the shares in Computec, with completion expected in the second half of the calendar year. The acquisition of Medical Present Value was completed at the start of July 2011, for a consideration of US$185m. Other than as disclosed, there has been no change since 31 March 2011 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 hold its AGM on 20 July 2011 and will announce its half-yearly results on 10 November 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 at 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.

 

END

 

 

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