Information services company Experian Plc (EXPN.L) Wednesday said that it delivered growth in line with its expectations during the first half of fiscal 2009 even though conditions remained challenging in some markets. The company also reported a 6% year-on-year decline in its total revenue from continuing operations for the six-month period. Moving forward, Experian said it remains on track to at least maintain margins and grow profits at constant currency for the year.
For the six months ended September 30, the company's revenue from continuing activities at constant exchange rates was up 1%. Group organic revenue also rose 1%, with fairly consistent trends throughout the half, the company noted.
Based on principal activity, organic revenue increased 12% at Interactive and 1% at Credit Services. At Decision Analytics and Marketing Services, organic revenues were down 8% and 7%, respectively.
The company also reported a decline of 1% in total revenue from continuing activities in North America. Organic revenue dropped 2%. Credit Services' organic revenue was down 7%. While consumer information origination volumes remained depressed, business information performed well, benefiting from strength in account management. Meanwhile, automotive remained weak. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue declined 5% due to long sales cycles. Further, market conditions at Marketing Services remained challenging due to retail client spending cutbacks. There was good growth at Consumer Direct, driven by strength in subscriptions, as well as improvement within the education vertical and PriceGrabber, Experian noted.
The company's revenue for Latin America slid 3% at actual exchange rates and increased 14% at constant exchange rates. Organic revenue growth was also 14%. According to the company, both consumer and business information performed strongly, driven by growth in demand for value-added services and account management and collections products, as well as deeper penetration of the small and medium enterprise channel.
In UK and Ireland, the company's total six-month period revenue at actual rates was down 18%. Meanwhile, total revenue growth at constant exchange rates as well as organic revenue growth remained flat during the period. The company said that organic revenue at Credit Services declined 5%, due to ongoing weakness in credit origination activity and the impact of financial services sector consolidation. At Decision Analytics, organic revenue decreased 8%, and at Marketing Services, organic revenue declined 3%.
The company also stated that the EMEA/Asia Pacific region posted a revenue drop of 3% at actual rates and an increase of 5% at constant rates for the first half. The region's organic revenue growth was flat, with KreditInform in South Africa contributing the balance. Organic revenue at Credit Services rose 5%, with growth across both established and emerging markets. Against a strong comparative, organic revenue at Decision Analytics declined 12%. Marketing Services' organic revenue growth was 7%, reflecting strong progress across emerging markets within new media activities in Europe and across the Asia Pacific region, the company noted.
Looking forward, the company said that the external environment varies considerably across its major markets. While North America is showing signs of stability, the UK remains weak. Further, market conditions in Brazil are improving.
"We are not relying on market recovery and continue to invest in numerous initiatives to drive growth. For the year as a whole, we remain on track to at least maintain margins, grow profits at constant currency and deliver strong cash flow conversion," stated Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer of Experian.
The company will issue its half-yearly financial report on November 18.
EXPN.L is trading at 539.50 pence on the LSE, up 10 pence, on a volume of 686,860 shares.
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