Half-yearly financial report

7am, 12 November 2019 ─ Experian plc, the global information services company, today issues its half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2019. 

Brian Cassin, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We have started the year well. First-half organic revenue growth was 7%, with acceleration in Q2. This reflects successful execution on big new addressable market opportunities, the global roll out of our innovative platforms and considerable momentum in Consumer Services as we invest in Experian Boost.

“We now expect full-year organic revenue growth in the 7-8% range, at the upper end of our previous guidance. We continue to expect EBIT growth at or above revenue growth and strong progress in Benchmark earnings per share, all at constant currency, and for the full year we expect operating cash conversion of around 90%.”

1 See Appendix 1 (page 13) and note 6 to the financial statements (pages 25-26) for definitions of non-GAAP measures.

2 Benchmark measures are restated for exited business activities which comprise certain B2B businesses.

3 Organic revenue growth at constant exchange rates.

4 See page 13 for reconciliation of Benchmark EBIT from ongoing activities to Profit before tax. 

Strong first half performance.

• Q2 organic revenue growth of 7% and H1 organic revenue growth of 7%.
• B2B organic revenue growth of 6%.
• Consumer Services organic revenue growth of 11% with rapidly growing new product portfolio.
• Benchmark EBIT (ongoing activities) growth at constant rates of 6%.
• Benchmark EBIT margin of 26.9%, down 50 basis points at both constant rates and actual rates, including one-off launch costs for Experian Boost.
• Benchmark EPS growth of 3% at constant rates.

Operational highlights.

• Strong momentum as we accelerate our global B2B innovation plays; Ascend, Experian One, open banking (Trusso and Verdus) and CrossCore all progressed strongly in the half, and considerable momentum in Experian Boost with quadrupling of revenues in CreditMatch.
• Good momentum in North America, as B2B innovations take-hold and with double-digit Consumer Services growth.
• Double-digit organic revenue growth in Latin America; preparing for positive data.
• Generating audiences at scale as global free consumer memberships reach 70m across our three major markets, up from c. 45m last year.
• Significant progress in Experian Boost, unique account connections of 2m US consumers.
• Further strategic progress with US$437m investments in acquisitions, including Compuscan, and additional acquisitions and minority investments.

Continuing commitment to shareholder returns and disciplined capital allocation.

• First interim dividend up 4% to 14.5 US cents per ordinary share.
• Completed US$181m of the share repurchase programme to 8 November 2019, of which US$137m was in the first half.

View the full press release in PDF format.

Contacts

Experian

Nadia Ridout-Jamieson              Investor queries                                    +44 (0)20 3042 4215

Gerry Tschopp                          Media queries

Finsbury

Rollo Head                                                                                            +44 (0)20 7251 3801

Jenny Davey

There will be a presentation today at 9.30am (UK time) to analysts and investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Financial Centre, 2 King Edward Street, London, EC1A 1HQ. The presentation can be viewed live via the link from the Experian website at www.experianplc.com and can also be accessed live via a telephone dial-in facility: 0800 783 0906 (UK primary) or 01296 480 100 (UK direct) or +44 1296 480 100 (International direct), using access code 559 971 33. The supporting slides and an indexed replay will be available on the website later in the day.

Experian will update on third quarter trading for FY20 on 17 January 2020. 

Roundings

Certain financial data has been rounded within this announcement. As a result of this rounding, the totals of data presented may vary slightly from the actual arithmetic totals of such data.

Definitions

B2B - Business-to-Business.

B2B2C - business-to-business-to-consumer.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements made in this announcement 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. See page 12 for further information on risks and uncertainties facing Experian. 

Company website

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 world’s leading global information services company. During life’s big moments – from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers – we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organisations to prevent identity fraud and crime. 

We have 17,200 people operating across 44 countries and every day we’re investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximise every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. 

Learn more at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.