10 January 2007
Experian, the global information solutions company, today issues an update on trading in the three months to 31 December 2006.
Commenting on the performance of Experian, Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are pleased with the way our businesses have performed around the world. There was particularly strong organic growth in the quarter, helped by exceptional results from Consumer Direct and PriceGrabber.com. Looking forward, while we continue to face specific challenges in some of our markets, we remain confident about the outlook for the full year.”
| Continuing activities only1 | Total growth % At actual exchange rates2 | Total growth % At constant exchange rates | Organic growth % At constant exchange rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas3 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| UK and Ireland | 35 | 22 | 7 |
| EMEA/Asia Pacific | 17 | 10 | 8 |
| Experian | 20 | 16 | 9 |
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In the three months to 31 December 2006, sales from continuing activities at Experian increased by 16% at constant exchange rates. Organic growth was 9%, reflecting, as expected, an acceleration in US Credit Services, exceptional performance from Consumer Direct and PriceGrabber.com, and continued strong growth from Decision Analytics. Acquisitions contributed 7% to sales growth in the period.
Experian acquired three businesses during the quarter – a business and consumer credit bureau in Estonia, Adhoc Solutions (Belgian micromarketing) and an additional affiliate credit bureau in the US, for a combined consideration of $20m plus earn-outs.
In dollars, sales in the Americas from continuing activities in the three months to 31 December 2006 increased by 15% in total. Organic growth was 10%, with PriceGrabber, which was acquired in mid-December 2005, generating the remaining 5%.
Against easier comparatives, Credit Services saw a return to low single-digit organic growth. Decision Analytics continued to perform very strongly in the period, while organic sales in Marketing Solutions were in line with last year.
Interactive’s organic sales growth was again above 20% in the period, with an exceptional performance from Consumer Direct. PriceGrabber delivered total pro forma year-on-year growth of around 40% in this seasonally important quarter, benefiting in particular from higher traffic from free and organic search channels.
Sales from continuing activities in the UK and Ireland increased by 22% in the third quarter at constant exchange rates. Organic growth was 7%, with acquisitions, mainly FootFall (acquired in December 2005), ClarityBlue (acquired in January 2006) and Eiger Systems (acquired in June 2006) contributing the balance.
Both Credit Services and Marketing Solutions showed low single-digit organic sales growth in the quarter, reflecting continuing difficult conditions in the UK credit market. Sales at Consumer Direct in the UK nearly tripled.
Decision Analytics performed well, with Experian’s market leadership in fraud prevention being reinforced by the renewal of a five-year contract for running the UK’s national fraud data sharing system (National Hunter). Experian also signed a new contract with Royal Bank of Scotland to prevent application fraud across its UK banking and insurance activities.
At constant exchange rates, sales from continuing activities in EMEA/Asia Pacific increased by 10% in the quarter, of which organic growth contributed 8%. There was improved growth in Credit Services, including double-digit increases from the consumer credit bureaux in Southern and Eastern Europe and South Africa.
Sales in Decision Analytics increased by strong double-digit rates. During the quarter, Experian signed a contract to deliver its strategy management software to Shenzhen Development Bank in China. Shenzhen has a strategic alliance with GE Money, which uses Experian’s decision support software in over 20 countries around the world.
Experian will issue its Second Half Trading Update on 17 April 2007. Its Preliminary Results will be announced on 23 May 2007.
| Experian | ||
| Paul Brooks | Chief Financial Officer | 0203 042 4200 |
| Fay Dodds | Director of Investor Relations | |
| Finsbury | ||
| Rollo Head | 0207 251 3801 | |
| James Wyatt-Tilby | ||
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.