Experian Share Discussion Threads

[williebiz] 20/11/2008 16:14

Source: Experian, 03 April 2008
Eiger Systems re-branded as Experian Payments
Experian, the global information services company, today announced the re-branding of Eiger Systems, a leading developer of strategic payment solutions, to Experian Payments.

As Experian Payments, the business will leverage the data and international presence of Experian to develop international corporate payments services to help both corporates and banks to make their payments correctly and efficiently.


Experian Payments will build on the prominent status that it has built up in the UK payments market to further its international growth plans. As national payments landscapes become increasingly international in nature, particularly in the light of the Single Euro Payments Area, Experian Payments believes it will be well placed to respond to market and customer demands through Experian's global reach. The acquisition of Eiger Systems by Experian in 2006 opened up access to a wealth of data from within Experian with which the division plans to continually enhance its services.


Jonathan Williams, Director of Communications and Product Strategy at Experian Payments, says: "We have a long history of supporting developments in the corporate payments market, such as the industry migration to BACSTEL-IP, support for the Euro Payments Council resolution on BIC and IBAN and Bacs' new ETS Service. This has enabled us to successfully anticipate and meet the evolving needs of our clients. As part of Experian, we are collaborating with other parts of the group to ensure that clients benefit from the products and services we provide."


Phil Cotter, Managing Director of Experian's Information Solutions division, comments: "Since our acquisition of the newly-branded Experian Payments, the business has quickly become integrated into Experian and is a valuable addition with its strong data validation and submission services for bulk payments. We are now looking to build on its successes by expanding its international reach to reflect the global nature and demands of our clients' businesses."



So now it sits in Information Solutions

[williebiz] 20/11/2008 16:11

Sits within QAS, Experian's international address and identity management software provider.

But earnings data does not appear to be separated out.

[williebiz] 20/11/2008 16:02

Experian acquires Eiger Systems
22/06/2006

Experian®, the global information solutions company, today announces the acquisition of Eiger Systems, a market-leading provider of bank account validation and payment processing software. Eiger Systems strengthens Experian's expertise in data integrity, and further extends its services within the fast-growing payments arena.
Description of Eiger Systems
Eiger Systems develops bank account validation and payment processing software, which reduce the risk and cost involved with electronic transactions. Eiger Systems' software enables organisations to validate consumer and corporate bank sort code and account details, whether captured on paper, online or over the telephone, and ensures they are submitted securely to BACS, the UK's automated clearing house. This enables organisations to ensure that Direct Debits, such as the collection of utility bills, and direct credit payments to suppliers or employees are set up with accurate bank details and arrive at the correct destination account. Around one in three of all UK Direct Debits and direct credits are processed by Eiger Systems' software.
Based in Rugby, UK, Eiger Systems was founded in 1997 and currently employs over 80 people. More than 1,000 organisations and over one third of FTSE 100 companies use Eiger Systems' software, including many of Europe's clearing banks, insurance companies, telecommunication providers, utility companies, building societies, charities, local authorities and central government departments. These include Nationwide Building Society, Standard Life Assurance, The Carphone Warehouse, Scottish Power and BT Retail.
Rationale for acquisition
Building on the capabilities of QAS, Experian's international address and identity management software provider, this acquisition further extends Experian's data integrity capabilities - now providing clients with access to both personal and financial data accuracy software. The combination of both companies' technologies will enable clients to simultaneously validate customers' name and address details, via QAS' award-winning QuickAddress software, and customers' bank information using Eiger Systems' data validation software. By doing this at the point of data capture - whether on paper, online or over the telephone - clients will be able to reduce the margin of error when entering customers' details, saving time and money in processing payments while also improving customer service levels.
Harry Meikle, Group Managing Director of QAS, stated: "The acquisition of Eiger Systems, a successful fast growing company, reflects the strong strategic fit between both organisations. It also reinforces Experian's ability to provide clients in the UK and overseas with a suite of complementary data accuracy software products to ensure that the integrity of customer data - both personal and financial - is captured with greater precision. Together, our joint proposition will provide significant opportunities for future growth and add a new dimension to the scope, scale and range of software solutions we are able to offer our clients."
Callum Johnston, Managing Director of Eiger Systems, added: "As an Experian company we can now leverage its considerable resources to take Eiger Systems' business in Europe to the next level. Given the high growth expected in electronic payments throughout Europe, combined with the support and experience of QAS and Experian, Eiger Systems has a great opportunity to deliver first-class software solutions to major markets across multiple territories."
The acquisition of Eiger Systems is consistent with Experian's global strategy of acquiring complementary businesses that provide new products, new data or entry into new vertical or regional markets, while leveraging the core assets of other Experian companies.

[powwow] 19/11/2008 16:56

I have looked a the results but couldn't see the info.. Does anyone know what kind of business exp have within their Experian Payments UK Gateway offering.

[williebiz] 19/11/2008 12:39

Experian gained 11 per cent on unveiling rising margins and saying it was well placed to grow in the credit crunch.

[powwow] 19/11/2008 11:51

I cannot see a bid, besides they are doing well and will continue to do well in many areas of financial business.

[williebiz] 19/11/2008 11:02

Great set of figures, well done EXPN team.

[williebiz] 07/11/2008 12:04

450p my first target

[williebiz] 29/10/2008 17:06

Bargain of the century

[williebiz] 16/10/2008 09:35

Glad to see the recovery

[hamnavoe] 16/10/2008 07:57

Experian: It's time to buy
Crisis, what crisis? Experian, the credit checking agency, ought to be one of the victims of the financial malaise as banks lend less and consequently demand fewer of the company's services.

By David Litterick
Last Updated: 9:29PM BST 15 Oct 2008

Experian
Instead, it has managed to grow revenues in the first half by 13pc, 3pc of which was organic. Better still, growth is accelerating.

Next half will be better still as the comparators get easier.

Experian has always claimed to be a through-the-cycle business. Until now the claim has been untested. So far, though, the theory is holding. Its counter-cyclical divisions are offsetting stagnation elsewhere.

Banks are calling on Experian to help with loan recovery and manage their bad borrowers, while customers are paying to keep track of their credit profiles to fight identity fraud and improve their chances of securing a loan.

Following the collapse in mortgage lending, Experian's credit-services division in the UK and Ireland reported a 4pc fall in sales in the first-half, with an even larger decline in the US.

In the UK, the decline was offset by 8pc organic growth in "decision analytics". In English, that means Experian's wealth of data is now being used to work out who's facing hard times and how the banks can best manage loan recovery to minimise their loss.

At the same time, the Latin American business is growing rapidly – up 22pc organically – as Brazil's economy prospers and more people seek credit. Asia posted 8pc organic growth. The company has already aggressively stripped excess cost out, so it pared back for the downturn.

Experian shares were hit yesterday as the sale of its non-core PriceGrabber US price comparison website was pulled after bidders failed to secure the funds, though the transaction services business in France was offloaded for €203m (£158m). For the moment, PriceGrabber is not on the block but if buyers return there is little doubt it will be sold.

Questor recommended selling at 395¼p. Trading on 9 times 2009 earnings and yielding 3.9pc, it's now on more attractive metrics.

In a market where few stocks appear attractive, Experian is showing some defensive qualities. Buy.

[deckergj] 15/10/2008 16:20

Just had my 300p order filled after missing first thing am today, have high expectations.
deck

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 12:52

Still, many analysts regarded the share price fall as an overreaction, given the strong sales growth figures. In a research note, Royal Bank of Scotland (nyse: RBS - news - people ) advised that Experian was a buy.

"We like Experian," the note said, calling the company "unique, cash-generative and at a discount to peers."

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 12:47

Credit rating agency Experian benefits from the turmoil By Nick Goodway
Last updated at 11:33 AM on 15th October 2008
Comments (0) Add to My Stories Consumer credit rating agency Experian today showed that even a credit-crunch cloud has a silver lining.

The firm, which has details of 40 million British consumers and 220 million US ones on its books, saw much greater growth in the last three months than the three before.

In the quarter from April to June, its revenues excluding acquisitions grew by just 1 per cent but between July and September, they rose by 5 per cent.



Finance director Paul Brooks said: 'The banks and other financial services clients are doing very little prospecting for new customers and are concentrating on cross-selling and upgrading existing ones.

At the same time, consumers are applying for much less credit because the banks have got so much tighter and are charging more.'

But at the other end of the spectrum, demand for Experian's skills is booming. Brooks said:
'Rising delinquencies, and people and businesses applying for bankruptcy mean that the banks are paying a lot more attention to their existing loan portfolios.
'They are improving their collection techniques and doing everything to minimise defaults. At the same time, we are also seeing an increased focus on our fraud prevention services.'


More...This is Money: Experian Group company data

One major downside from the credit crunch is that Experian has failed to find a buyer for its price-comparison website PriceGrabber, which it put up for sale in February. But it is selling two businesses in France.
It bought PriceGrabber for $485million (£277million) in 2005 but has seen growth curtailed as consumer spending slowed.

Brooks said:''At first, we had a good deal of interest but as the credit crunch progressed, it became clear we were not going to be able to sell at an acceptable price. PriceGrabber is a good business but it is not a natural strategic fit, so when conditions improve we could be open to offers again.'
The French card-processing and business-process outsourcing businesses are being sold to Advent International and Doc@post, part of state-run La Poste, for a total of €203million (£158million).

The two businesses had revenues of €240million last year and earnings of €26million.

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 12:03

Getting upgraded

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 09:59

Experian said it will switch its focus to helping banks and retailers recover money owed to them after the slump in house sales curtailed its credit-checking business in the US and Britain.

By Amy Wilson
Last Updated: 9:35AM BST 15 Oct 2008

Experian
Mortgage approvals have fallen sharply this year because of the freeze in money markets and falling house prices, with the number of home loans approved down to a record low of 21,086 in August, 64pc fewer than the previous year.

As a result, Experian's credit-services division in the UK and Ireland reported a 4pc fall in sales in the first-half. In the US, where the mortgage business has been in decline for a year, credit services slipped 5pc.

But total sales increased 13pc in the half, and chief executive Don Robert is optimistic the company can continue to increase profits by pushing its payment collection services to help banks recover mortgage payments and other businesses get their money from delinquent borrowers.

``It's about focusing sales and research on our clients' priorities,'' Mr Roberts said.

He also said it was a ``misconception'' that high street banks had completely shut up shop, and credit is ``still flowing.''

Credit services account for about half of Experian's business, and sales in Latin America and Asia were still strong during the first half.

Experian was spun off from retailer GUS, the owner of Argos and Homebase, in 2006.

The company also said it agreed to sell its French transaction processing business for €203m to Advent International and a division of the French post office, and will use the money to repay debt.

Experian shelved the sale of its Pricegrabber business because the credit crisis has made it too difficult for potential buyers to borrow.

The shares declined 24.75p, or 7.5pc, to 305.25p in early trading. The stock has fallen 23pc this year, giving Experian a market cap of about £3.1bn.

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 09:43

Experian falls as credit crunch stops PriceGrabber sale
By Deborah Hyde | 09:23:09 | 15 October 2008

Experian shares fell in morning deals as the credit group said it had decided not to go ahead with plans to sell its price comparison business, PriceGrabber, because of the credit crunch.

'Experian considered a divestment of the business and talked to a number of parties. However, in light of the current funding environment for potential buyers, Experian has concluded that at this time divestment is not in the best interests of shareholders,' the group said.

Shares fell 6.97% to 307.75p as the news overshadowed disposals in France and a solid trading update.

But it said it has found a buyer for its transaction processing activities in France, which includes its card processing and business process outsourcing activities. It will sell the business to Advent International and a La Poste subsidiary for €203 million in cash.

Separately, Experian said revenue from continuing operations rose 11% at constant exchange rates in the six months to 30 September 2008, while group organic revenue growth was 3% year-on-year.

Revenue grew organically at Decision Analytics (up 7%) and at Interactive (up 9%), while at Credit Services and Marketing Services it was flat. Acquisitions contributed 8% to revenue growth.

Kevin Lapwood, analyst at Seymour Pierce, said the organic sales was significantly higher than in the previous quarter and the same period last year and higher than the 3% that he had been looking for.

While he said traditional credit origination and consumer-based activities are obviously weak and unlikely to recover in the near term, the group's risk management and collection activities are strong.
Group growth was adversely affected by further falls in the core Credit Services businesses both in the US and in the UK as tougher credit conditions continued to bite, Lapwood said.

He upgraded the shares to hold from sell.

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 09:40

10x forward PER. That's cheap as chips for EXPN. Obviously screwed up with buying and now not selling Pricegrabber which may be behind the lack of enthusiasm today but we knew that already and it's quite small beer ($485m and should get majority of that back). On reflection EXPN will be seen as amazingly cash generative, quality business with diversified model/ diversified income streams across continents and with good exposure to EMs. Good for a pop back up to trade in the 400p-450p range within weeks IMV.

[a0148009] 15/10/2008 08:59

Agreed. With more lending encouraged by the Government for mortgages and SME's
should help, although no mention of margins. If you can believe forecast for 2009
shares on P/E 10x - not expensive but who knows in this market.

AO

[williebiz] 15/10/2008 07:23

Pretty good results in the circs

[williebiz] 09/10/2008 16:56

Trading update will determine whether it goes up above 400p in the short term