GUS PLC
14 September 2006
14 September 2006
GUS plc
Experian Trading Update
Experian, the global information solutions company, which is part of GUS plc, is
issuing this update on trading to coincide with the publication of its
prospectus later today.
Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer of Experian, said:
'We are pleased with the performance of Experian in the first five months of the
year, which continues to show good growth in line with our expectations. Sales
grew by 18%, with organic growth of 7%, reflecting the scale and strength of the
Experian business around the world.'
% change in sales year-on-year for the five months to 31 August 2006
+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|Continuing activities only* |At actual exchange | At constant |
| | rates %# | exchange rates % |
+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|Americas | 20 | 20 |
+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|UK and Ireland | 21 | 20 |
+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|EMEA/Asia-Pacific | 9 | 8 |
+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|Experian | 18 | 18 |
+------------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
* As previously disclosed, two businesses have been treated as discontinuing
from 1 April 2006. These are MetaReward's incentive marketing websites which
have been closed and large scale UK account processing, where Experian has
announced its phased withdrawal by Autumn 2009
# Experian is reporting in US dollars
In the five months to 31 August 2006, Experian grew its sales from continuing
activities by 18% at constant exchange rates. Organic growth was 7% with the
balance from acquisitions.
By geography, Experian's three regions all showed 7% organic sales growth. This
performance illustrates the benefits of Experian's successful strategy to
broaden its portfolio of businesses by geography and by product.
Americas
In dollars, sales from continuing activities in the five months to 31 August
2006 increased by 20% in total. Organic growth was 7% in the period with
corporate acquisitions, largely in Interactive, generating the remaining 13%.
As expected, sales in Credit Services excluding acquisitions were in line with
last year, a pleasing performance against a period where the comparatives were
very strong (H1 2005/6: +18%). Sales of products used in account acquisition
(profiles and prescreen) were weaker but this was offset by good growth in risk
management, collections, recovery and account retention products. Sales of
Decision Analytics grew strongly, reflecting a recent contract win with Bank of
America and continued strength in fraud prevention products.
Sales in Marketing Solutions were marginally down year-on-year, with the
continuing trend of strong growth in email marketing and research services
offset by weakness in consumer marketing data and list processing. Organic
growth in Interactive was in excess of 20%, with particular strength in Consumer
Direct.
UK and Ireland
In the five months to 31 August 2006, sales from continuing activities increased
by 20% in total at constant exchange rates. Organic growth continued at 7% in
the period despite a difficult consumer environment. The contribution from
acquisitions, largely ClarityBlue, was 13%.
Excluding acquisitions, there were solid performances from Credit Services,
Decision Analytics and Marketing Solutions, with particular success in fraud
prevention and in the telecommunications and public sectors. Interactive sales
more than trebled in the period.
EMEA/Asia-Pacific
In the five months to 31 August 2006, sales from continuing activities increased
by 8% in total at constant exchange rates, of which organic growth was 7%. There
was particular strength in Decision Analytics, especially in Southern and
Eastern Europe. Sales in the French transaction processing business, which
accounted for about half of revenue in the period, were marginally ahead of last
year.
Future announcements
Experian will announce its Interim Results on 21 November 2006.
Enquiries
Experian
Paul Brooks Chief Financial Officer 020 7495 0070
Fay Dodds Director of Investor Relations
Finsbury
Rupert Younger 020 7251 3801
Rollo Head
This announcement is available on the GUS website, www.gusplc.com.
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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
F
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
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