Experian Share Discussion Threads

[tipsytoad] 17/4/2008 08:09

DYOR and make your own mind up - imo

[noon] 17/4/2008 08:07

telegraph says AVOID.

[williebiz] 17/4/2008 08:01

Hi Noon - they must have got burned with their short then, EXPN only going up for the near future, mkt gyrations aside

[tipsytoad] 17/4/2008 07:59

my motto is trade what you see
not what other so called experts - call............

[noon] 17/4/2008 07:56

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW GUYS,

EXPN downgraded to sale by citi group, target 350p.

I have no position.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 18:52

Like I said, don't set your sights too low. 450p very achievable in short order

[tipsytoad] 16/4/2008 16:31

a brilliant day allround

[broadwood] 16/4/2008 16:10

Blimey, there's no stopping this one today.


I might even get my money back one day.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 13:55

Brazilian growth steadies Experian
Evening Standard
16 April 2008, 10:10am
Experian, the credit rating and data business with information on 40m consumers in the UK and 220m in the US, is starting to see signs of stability in some of its main markets hit by the credit crunch.

It achieved 2% organic growth in revenues in the last three months of its financial year to the end of March, which matched the growth in the third quarter following a rapid slowdown in the first half.
'That 2% is pretty significant given the environment in which our clients are having so many difficulties,' said chief executive Don Roberts. 'Things will remain tough for at least the next couple of quarters... so I would not be so daring as to call the turn yet.'

Experian has been hit by banks and lenders calling for fewer credit checks as they offer fewer mortgages and loans on either side of the Atlantic. On the other hand, work for call centres and local authorities keen to verify customers' data more accurately in the current environment has increased.

With North America and the UK and Ireland coming up with just 1% organic growth in the second half Brazil (up 40%) and eastern Europe and Asia Pacific (up 6%) provided most of the expansion.

Experian said it was on target to make City forecasts of earnings between $935m (£475m) and $965m for the year up from $825m last year.

In January Experian warned it could shed hundreds of jobs from its 8000-strong workforce here and in the US. So far it has cut 100 posts in the UK with another 200 moved offshore to cheaper countries.

The sale process for Pricegrabber, the price comparison website, announced six weeks ago continues.

Experian shares began trading at 560p in October 2006 but from the start of the credit crunch the price began to slide. Today the shares rose 26p to 382p.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 13:52

Experian's reassuring update
1 hour ago

Credit information firm Experian signalled it was faring better than expected through the fall-out from the credit crunch.

The group said overall like-for-like revenues grew 2% during the second half to March 31 - ahead of the flat or 1% rise predicted by analysts.

Nottingham-based Experian revealed dips in its UK and US credit services arms of 1% and 3% respectively, thanks to weaker demand for information from banks and other lenders.

But the firm said the downturn was mitigated by work from businesses trying to get more accurate customer data during the tougher environment.

Overall its performance was boosted by double-digit growth in booming regions such as Asia Pacific and Brazil, where revenues grew by 40%.

Chief executive Don Robert spoke of challenges in the UK and US during the past six months, adding that he was not expecting any short term improvement in the markets.

Mr Robert said: "Experian's strong portfolio of businesses enabled the group to deliver a good second-half performance, despite continuing marketplace challenges in the US and the UK.

"Although we do not plan on short-term improvement in the US and UK financial services environment...we remain confident about the outlook."

Shares in Experian, which has information on 300 million customers worldwide including around 40 million in the UK, rose nearly 9% after the update.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 13:52

Too soon but a profit's a profit

[follow me2] 16/4/2008 13:51

After few weeks I just closed EXPN for 22p and 30p.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 13:26

Resilient Experian soars despite challenging markets
By Matthew Goodburn | 10:22:00 | 16 April 2008

Credit checking agency Experian rose to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board after saying its second half numbers would be ahead of analyst expectations.

The update revealed the credit reference firm's defensive qualities as it posted a 21% increase in its second half revenues and by 9:25 shares had jumped 7.51% or 26.75p to 382.75p.

It said it expected earnings to be a double digit percentage higher than last year when it reports its full year numbers on 21 May.

The group revealed its emerging market performance after two Latin American aquisitions had shot up from $3 million a year ago to $211 million.

The group also saw a boost from reporting in US dollars, posting 15% revenue growth at constant exchange rates in the six months to 31 March.

In its fourth quarter update chief executive Don Robert said US market conditions, which saw a 2% rise in revenues, remained challenging, especially in its mortgage and pre-screen credit checking business.

He also warned that UK market conditions were 'challenging' due to the uncertain environment for financial services but that the group's strength in business information had kept trading buoyant with organic growth from the credit services division declining by just 1%.

Robert said cost efficiencies in the UK were on track and the group remained confident about its business outlook over the next year.

Experian's share price has fallen 40% over the last 12 months but the update reassured brokers.

Merrill Lynch analyst Andrew Ripper said stabilisation of Experian's organic growth business in the fourth quarter after a period of slowdown was significant and despite warnings on the trading environment in the US and UK the strong growth from emerging markets boded well.

Merrill Lynch said the update provided an 'excellent buying opportuntiy' and maintained its buy rating with a price target of 510p.

Panmure Gordon argued that the business's diversified portfolio highlighted its defensive qualities in difficult markets and reiterated its buy rating and 500p price target.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 11:56

16 April 2008 Trading update, second half
21 May 2008 Preliminary results announcement
10 July 2008 Interim management statement, first quarter
16 July 2008 Annual General Meeting

[tipsytoad] 16/4/2008 11:55

also day trade this in my isa - but believe this is a good long term play,
and credit references are bound to be the flavour of the month in this climate

could never understand why it dropped to these lows
but thats the markets for you
trade what you see imo

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 11:50

2nd conference call at 3pm

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 11:27

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The chief executive of Experian Group Plc., the
world's largest credit checking company, Wednesday gave an upbeat outlook for
the company's prospects, sending shares sharply higher, but said he will reduce
its acquisitions activity going forward.
CEO Don Robert told reporters on a conference call this morning that
Experian's core strategy for growth going forward is geographic expansion,
bringing new products to the market, and cross-selling products to existing
customers.
He added "all of these we chose to augment with acquisitions when they fit
with our long-term strategic plan and when they fit with our capital allocation
framework" but "going forward we don't see as much acquisitions in the pipeline
as in the last year."
The company today reported net debt as of March 31, of $2.7 billion, with
acquisitions contributing 13 percent to revenue growth for the second-half of
the year.
Robert said that Experian, which draws about 40 percent of its revenue from
financial services in the United States and in the United Kingdom, will continue
its diversification programme to reduce exposure to any one market or product.
During the past year, Experian has been working hard to reduce its reliance
on the US market through acquisitions as well as investment into emerging
markets and consumer-related services.
The company expanded into Latin America through buying the Brazilian
credit-checking company, Serasa, for $1.2 billion last year, which already
boosted Experian's second-half revenue today. Latin America recorded second-half
revenues of $221 million today, compared to $3 million in the prior year.
It also bought a series of businesses in the UK including the Internet
marketing firm Hitwise for about $240 million to meet the online needs of its
clients.
Decision Analytics, where Experian offers data and analytical services to
assist companies in decision making, is a growing part of the company's business
as is Interactive, which provides credit information price comparison web sites.
Experian's management has consistently argued that the business portfolio is
resilient to a credit crisis as the company is no longer reliant on a major area
such as Credit Services or one particular geography.
A Panmure Gordon analyst said today's "results confirm that at some point
the market will share this view". Evolution Securities analyst Hector Forsythe
also said that "today's statement confirms the strength and benefits of
Experian's portfolio".
Experian shares rose sharply on this view and at At 09:56 a.m. were up 8.2
percent or 29 pence to 385 pence after losing about 40 percent of its market
value in the past 12 months. Based on Tuesday's closing share price of 356 pence
Experian was valued at 3.64 billion pounds.
But Experian's CEO told reporters today that the company is still aiming at
a more balanced portfolio and will further invest in geographic expansion as
Latin America, Europe and Asia are "the winning areas" for the company.
Regarding the current trading environment, Robert said that the market will
stabilise and that he sees a lot of good growth stories outside the UK and the
U.S.
He specified that, after opening offices in India and Canada, the company is
interested in opening new offices in Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Korea,
Russia, India, and China.
Experian today reported total revenue growth for the second half of the year
of 21 percent, which further benefited from reporting in U.S. dollars. At
constant exchange rates revenue growth was 15 percent.
But Robert said he was very pleased with today's results given "the most
challenging market conditions we have seen in several decades".
The company saw pressure from the front end of financial services in the
U.S. and the UK and a decline in Marketing Services in the U.K., where the
client base is skewed to financial services.
Robert said that the company will see benefits of its cost efficiency
programme in the new financial year and that he does not see a worsening of the
economic environment.
He also assured investors that consulting and analytics is showing good
growth and that strong operations in emerging markets will ensure growth going
forward.
By Anita Likus: [e-mail]
aml/vs/aml/ajb

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

[noon] 16/4/2008 10:30

no target willie for me but day trade it in ISA, tracking ft/dow.
no sorting but buy on a dip.

Merrill Lynch downgrades Tesco to neutral from buy, has a buy and 510p target for Experian, a neutral for Legal & General.

Panmure Gordon has a hold and a target of 356p.

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 09:25

and the rest. 450p first target by end of next week Friday 26 April close

[primrose] 16/4/2008 09:03

Looks like EXPN is going up to 400p+

[williebiz] 16/4/2008 08:19

Not too shabby, might lose a few pence over next few hours but sign of things to come