Experian Share Discussion Threads

[playboyofthewesternworld] 29/5/2009 10:43:31

Hello b600pys!

[playboyofthewesternworld] 28/5/2009 06:28:33

This checker deserves credit for its canny business modelNick Hasell: Tempus Experian may sit in the support services sector but its share price – up 80 per cent from last year's low – makes it look more like a bank. That is perhaps not surprising, given that banks are the biggest customers of the FTSE 100 credit reference agency and that its fortunes remain closely linked with the availability of credit to European and American consumers.

But despite bold policy measures that should work in its favour – sharp cuts in interest rates, quantitative easing in Britain and President Obama's mortgage refinancing moves in the United States – Experian resisted the temptation to talk green shoots at yesterday's full-year results. Increased stability in financial services "has yet to translate into a significant change in client behaviour", it said. Meanwhile, patterns in the two economic indicators from which Experian usually takes its cue, unemployment and consumer loan defaults, continue to worsen.

This means that investors must be content for now that underlying revenues and operating profits are still on the rise: up 3 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. Even better, the 8 per cent increase in the dollar-denominated dividend translated into a 40 per cent improvement for sterling-based shareholders.

There were some encouraging straws in the wind. A clutch of US credit card issuers are beginning to prepare campaigns for prescreening new customers for later in the year, the first hint of expansion in more than a year. Conversely, Experian is benefiting from moves by banks to repair their balance sheets – the need to pull in deposits has increased demand for verifying the identity of new savers. In the meantime, sales at Experian's Serasa division in Brazil are growing in double digits and the company is taking its first tentative steps into India, having won its first licence earlier this month.

But the beauty of Experian is its ability to cut the same information in different ways for different customers: in essence, it buys data once but sells it many times over. That explains why its operating margins have now risen to 23.3 per cent and should continue to advance.

At 493p, up 7p, or 12 times current-year earnings, the shares have begun to price in recovery but should advance further as economic signals improve. Buy on weakness.

[playboyofthewesternworld] 28/5/2009 06:20:30

New US credit card rules could challenge DMers
by DM News, Marketing Direct 26-May-09, 13:00

NEW YORK - US credit card legislation signed President Barack Obama last Friday is expected to impact credit card marketing, which is likely to change in message as well as volume.

The legislation, which amends the Truth in Lending Act, is aimed at protecting US consumers from late fees and interest charges by making credit card companies more transparent about lending practices, Lauren Bell and Dianna Dilworth from Marketing Director US sister title DM News write.

...

The new regulations and the changing marketplace will affect the direct marketing campaigns of credit card issuers - some of the largest direct mail advertisers.

Direct mail volume from card companies will almost certainly continue to fall, as it has since hitting a peak of 8.2 billion offers mailed in 2006. The reductions will be partly in the interest of cutting costs, but they also will be an effect of card issuers targeting a smaller universe of prospects.

"They are cutting back not only because they need to reduce their risk," explains Stephen Clifford, VP financial services, Mintel Comperemedia. "They are not sending offers to the riskier people that they have in the past because they need to reduce their losses."

Experian, provider of data and database marketing services to US banks, is gearing up for this more focused approach to targeting.

"We anticipate an increase in prospecting over the next three to 18 months, but with more importance placed on targeted and methodical selection of prospects that are low risk, credit qualified and will likely want to open a new card account in the near future," wrote Michele Bodda, VP, prospecting and acquisitions, Experian, in an e-mail to DMNews.

[playboyofthewesternworld] 28/5/2009 06:13:39

Pricegrabber no 3 - still on the block but doing OK.

[playboyofthewesternworld] 23/5/2009 03:57:03

You just need to keep in mind that share options are part of the package and if little Jojo is to be put through uni in style, etc, at some stage they need to be turned into cash.

[keepitup] 22/5/2009 13:02:38

Maybe the chairman and director are both divorcing and moving intogether? That will make sense.... 8-o probably some overhang to offload now but that might present a good opportunity again soon...

[atticus] 22/5/2009 01:10:48

neat timing though!!

[playboyofthewesternworld] 21/5/2009 20:17:15

He's getting divorced or buying a house?

[atticus] 21/5/2009 17:23:22

The Company has received notification that, on 20 May 2009, the Chairman, Mr
John Peace, exercised options in respect of the undernoted ordinary shares of 10
US cents each in the Company.

The options were granted on the dates set out below under the GUS Executive
Share Option Scheme and rolled over into options over Experian shares on
demerger (10 October 2006).

+-----------------------+----------------------+---------------------------+
|Number of shares over | Date of original | Exercise price |
| which options | grant | |
| exercised | | |
+-----------------------+----------------------+---------------------------+
| 176,882 | 06/06/2002 | 367.5p |
+-----------------------+----------------------+---------------------------+
| 176,251 | 19/06/2003 | 380.1p |
+-----------------------+----------------------+---------------------------+

The Company has also received notification that Mr Peace sold 353,133 ordinary
shares of 10 US cents each in the Company on the London Stock Exchange on 20 May
2009 at a price of 496.8964p per share.

Notification of these transactions was received by the Company on 20 May 2009.

In addition, the Company has received notification that David Tyler, a director
of the Company, sold 100,000 ordinary shares of 10 US cents each in the Company
on the London Stock Exchange on 21 May 2009 at a price of 479.55p per share.

Notification of this transaction was received by the Company on 21 May 2009.


NOT a very good sign at all!!! Bad timing. I bought in yesterday!!

[playboyofthewesternworld] 21/5/2009 14:13:58

No interest to me, I sold my BT a long time ago

[dapatriot] 21/5/2009 14:11:06

doe sit tickle ur bubble :)

[dapatriot] 21/5/2009 14:10:48

have you heard of this :

[playboyofthewesternworld] 21/5/2009 14:10:28

You might prefer to delete your post as I never heard of this scotty.

[dapatriot] 21/5/2009 14:09:09

scotty again :)

[playboyofthewesternworld] 21/5/2009 14:07:45

A little stutter - insignificant - then onwards & upwards

[playboyofthewesternworld] 20/5/2009 07:10:35

Stonking set of results: good job EXPN.

Sailed through the Credit Crunch.

Unfairly bunched with the banks.

All set for 600p next couple of months.

[playboyofthewesternworld] 19/5/2009 17:01:17

Credit checking specialist Experian has seen its share price weighed down by an assumed close correlation with the performance of the housing market, both here and in the USA. That view is beginning to change, however, and the stock was one of a handful of FTSE 100 constituents to show a rise on the year in 2008.

Profit before tax in the year to end-March is expected to slide to £521.6m from £549m a year earlier.

In its mid-April trading update covering the second half of its financial year (from October to March) the company said that revenue from continuing activities increased by 5% at constant currency rates, with organic revenue growth of 4%, though this disguised a slowing in the rate of organic growth in the Jan-Mar period to 3%, from 5% in the Oct-Mar quarter.

[atticus] 19/5/2009 14:57:59

As long as analyst's estimates are on track then i can see this hitting £5 tomorrow

[playboyofthewesternworld] 19/5/2009 13:34:28

Healthy bit of profit taking.

That 510p spike bodes well for tomorrow morning, if the results are decent and good news on divi and/or cash return, could start heading for that 540p target.

EXPN always been volatile so don't worry about that

[keepitup] 19/5/2009 12:42:45

Big spike this morning? Does that usually happen? Im happy as my long was sold automatically and now its dropped - good to have limits :)

[playboyofthewesternworld] 18/5/2009 09:34:11

If EXPN plans a more progressive dividend policy or a cash return to shareholders, I think we'll see a 20% spike up within weeks.

Watch this space, results out Wednesday.

[playboyofthewesternworld] 16/5/2009 07:57:09

If EXPN really does go ahead and put forward a progressive dividend policy, I feel that could provide EXACTLY the right stimulus to get the share price heading back towards 600p. Look at the following article and you'll see why:

From The Times May 16, 2009

Investors to lose more income as companies trim dividends
Miles Costello and Marcus Leroux

Shareholder income could fall by a further 35 per cent as more companies cut dividends to preserve cash, leading investors fear.

BT became the latest big company to cut its payout this week and Marks & Spencer is forecast to halve its final dividend when it announces its annual results on Tuesday.

Richard Batty, global investment strategist for Standard Life, predicts that dividends across the stock market will fall by up to 35 per cent between now and 2011. Some City traders, who have developed a market for trading dividends, are even more pessimistic and are predicting that leading companies will cut payouts by up to 50 per cent during the current financial year.

Mr Batty said: "The cuts we are seeing are pretty unprecedented. You have to go back to recessions and world wars before you see anything like it."

The fall in income will be a further blow to pension funds and to private investors, who are hurting from low interest rates that have wiped out interest payments from their bank savings.

About eight million pensioners rely on dividends or savings income to supplement their state pension. More than a million private investors suffered as a result of BT's dividend cut. The top 100 companies have reduced their dividends by about 15 per cent since late last year and analysts' estimates suggest cuts of a further 10 per cent to 15 per cent by next April.

Roger Lawson, a director of the UK Shareholders' Association, which represents individual share owners, said that the stability of dividend payments was particularly important to retail investors. He said that although some companies were being prudent, others were using the recession as a way of cutting the payout by more than necessary. He cited Legal & General, the insurer, which in March cut its dividend for the first time in its history.

Mr Batty said that despite the drastic cut in expected dividend income, institutional shareholders were broadly supportive of efforts by companies to preserve capital. He said: "We are seeing the severest recession since the 1930s. That impacts on corporate profitability. To some extent companies are being forced to cut dividends.

"Usually, it is a lack of confidence in the outlook that prompts a dividend cut; now it is about management taking action. If this action means that the company survives, investors will give that the thumbs up."

Leading City fund managers said they were hoping that the present round of dividend cuts would be a one-off. Investors will begin to ask questions if companies try to push through an unexpected second round of smaller payouts next year, they said.

Mr Batty added that Standard Life Investments was bullish on company shares. The yield on FTSE 100 shares, at about 5 per cent, compared with cash, is at its highest level for 100 years, he said. In November, Sir Stuart Rose, the executive chairman of M&S, held the interim dividend at 8.3p, despite cutting capital expenditure after a plunge in profits and sales.

Analysts suggest that M&S will post pre-tax profits of £615 million, down 46 per cent on last year. Some analysts believe that the retailer will maintain its final dividend, although most are expecting a cut. M&S declined to comment.

More than one million private shareholders in BT, the struggling telecoms group, lost out this week when Ian Livingston, the chief executive, cut the annual payout from 15.8p to 6.5p a share.

Enterprise Inns joined a growing line of companies to reduce their annual dividends last week in a desperate attempt to conserve cash as they battle to endure the recession.

As well as hammering the value of retail investors' share portfolios, the dividend cuts will hit company pension schemes that are heavily invested in shares. Institutional fund managers, which rely on dividend income to generate returns, will also see income hit.

[playboyofthewesternworld] 16/5/2009 07:01:18

Rumour of the day

Experian, the credit checking business, gained 17¾p to 483p ahead of full-year results on Wednesday that are forecast to show it has been resilient in the credit crunch. There is also talk that it may use its cash pile for a share buyback or dividend increase. JP Morgan set a 600p target and Deutsche Bank raised its target to 540p.