Experian Finance Plc Trading update, first quarter (4305L)

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RNS Number : 4305L

Experian Finance Plc

18 July 2017

news release

Trading update, first quarter

18 July 2017 -- Experian, the global information services company, today issues an update on trading for the three months ended 30 June 2017.

Commenting on the performance, Brian Cassin, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We have started the year in line with our expectations, with total revenue growth of 6% and organic revenue growth of 4%. Our business-to-business services have performed well, with 7% organic growth and good performances across all regions, demonstrating the breadth of our business as well as successful investment in new product innovation, helping our clients apply more data and analytics to drive better business outcomes. We are also taking important steps to reposition Consumer Services as we introduced two new services in the US, and over the coming months we will continue our efforts to build up scale in these new initiatives through greater education of and engagement with consumers.

"As we look ahead, we continue to expect growth for the year to be within our target mid single-digit organic revenue range, with stable margins and further progress in Benchmark earnings per share."

% change in revenue from ongoing activities year-on-year for the three months ended 30 June 2017

 
 Ongoing activities    Total revenue   Total revenue   Organic revenue 
  only                    growth %        growth %         growth % 
                         At actual      At constant      At constant 
                          exchange        exchange         exchange 
                          rates(1)         rates            rates 
--------------------  --------------  --------------  ---------------- 
 North America               8               8                4 
 Latin America              17               8                8 
 UK and Ireland            (13)             (3)              (3) 
 EMEA/Asia Pacific           5               7                7 
                      --------------  --------------  ---------------- 
 Experian                    5               6                4 
--------------------  --------------  --------------  ---------------- 
 

1 Experian reports in US dollars

In the three months ended 30 June 2017, total revenue growth from ongoing activities was 6% at constant exchange rates and organic revenue growth was 4%. At actual exchange rates, total revenue growth from ongoing activities was 5%.

This announcement is available on the Experian website at http://www.experianplc.com. There will be a conference call today to discuss this update at 9.00am (UK time), which will be broadcast live on the website with a recording available later.

All financial information in this trading update 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.

Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website), is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

% change in organic revenue year-on-year for the three months ended 30 June 2017

 
 Organic revenue     Credit      Decision    Marketing   Consumer    Experian 
  growth(1)          Services    Analytics    Services    Services 
 
 North America          6           13          18          (5)         4 
 Latin America          5           44          44          n/a         8 
 UK and Ireland         3           7            0         (19)        (3) 
 EMEA/Asia 
  Pacific               0           13          13          n/a         7 
                   ----------  -----------  ----------  ----------  --------- 
 Experian               5           13          12          (8)         4 
-----------------  ----------  -----------  ----------  ----------  --------- 
 

1 Ongoing activities only, at constant exchange rates

North America

In North America, we delivered organic revenue growth of 4% and total revenue growth of 8% reflecting the contribution from CSIdentity, our identity protection acquisition. We delivered good growth in Credit Services, including contributions from credit prescreen and collections, and we had another quarter of good growth in business information. Growth in these areas offset softer demand in mortgage and automotive. We have also made further progress in health with a strong quarter for new bookings and an increase in the average deal size. Decision Analytics delivered strong growth driven by a large One Experian win with a major US bank and we have a strong pipeline of new opportunities for software and analytics. In Marketing Services we delivered double-digit growth, and we continue to make very good progress in becoming a recognised leader in applying data in real-time to enable marketers to reach the right audiences through digital advertising.

In Consumer Services, our aim is to reposition our business by generating large audiences through which we can drive new and diversified revenue streams. We continue to make significant progress in driving free memberships, which reached over 10 million at the end of the quarter. We have also introduced two new offers, IdentityWorks a subscription-based identity monitoring service, and LendingWorks, which provides a better forum for consumers to access credit cards and loans from a network of lenders. The new product launches are early in the market and we expect to gain scale through a sequential roll out of marketing efforts. We expect this effort to continue over the next few months as we build enrolments in IdentityWorks and continue to add new credit offers and drive traffic to LendingWorks.

Latin America

Latin America delivered another strong quarter of growth, with total and organic revenue up 8% at constant exchange rates. In Brazil, we saw further strength in Credit Services, driven by new client wins, continued strength in countercyclical products and as we introduce new enriched services to small and medium enterprise clients. Decision Analytics is growing strongly across the region as we win new mandates for both software platforms and analytics products. Marketing Services performed very strongly, as we continue to scale our digital advertising capabilities in Brazil.

UK and Ireland

Total and organic revenue at constant exchange rates in the UK and Ireland declined by 3%, as growth across our business-to-business operations was offset by the anticipated decline in Consumer Services, in line with our strategy to transition this business. Business-to-business growth reflected client demand for services which help our clients enhance consumer experiences in the digital sphere, and was led by strength in credit pre-qualification services, fraud prevention services, PowerCurve software implementations, as well as new business wins for digital marketing services. In Consumer Services, while subscription revenues for credit monitoring services declined as expected, our free score offer is resonating in the marketplace with free memberships expanding to 2.2 million by the end of the quarter. We continue to develop services to engage our free members, and CreditMatcher, our lead generation service, delivered strong growth in revenue off a relatively low base.

EMEA/Asia Pacific

In EMEA/Asia Pacific, total and organic revenue growth was 7% at constant exchange rates. We continue to make good progress across EMEA/Asia Pacific, particularly where we integrate multiple products and services through our One Experian approach. This has led to success in securing several new business wins for credit decisioning software, fraud prevention services, data quality and targeting services.

Future events

Experian will hold its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 20 July and will release half year results on Wednesday 15 November 2017.

Contact:

Experian

Nadia Ridout-Jamieson Investor queries [phone]

Gerry Tschopp Media queries [phone]

Finsbury

Rollo Head [phone]

Jenny Davey

About Experian

Experian is the world's leading global information services company. During life's big moments - from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers - we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organisations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have 16,000 people operating across 37 countries and every day we're investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximise every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Learn more at www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

This announcement has been issued through the Companies Announcement Service of

The Irish Stock Exchange

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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July 18, 2017 12:05 ET (16:05 GMT)