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Experian boosts turnover as it agrees $175m disposals

The Nottingham-based company also announced this morning (10 May 2012) the $175m (£108m) sale of two of its divisions.

Its price comparison shopping business PriceGrabber and North America online lead generation activities, which operate under the brands Classes USA and LowerMyBills, have been sold to Ybrant Digital, a digital marketing services business based in Hyderabad, India.

Both businesses have been non-core to Experian for several years, the group added. The $175m price tag, consists of $100m cash at closing and a $75m loan note.

In addition, Experian expects to realise cash tax relief of about $120m over the next two years. For the year ended 31 March 2012, revenues for the businesses to be sold were $283m with earnings before interest and tax of $20m.

PriceGrabber and the North America lead generation activities have been treated as discontinued operations in the company's year end results.

Experian's total revenue from continuing activities was up 16 per cent for the 12-month period, with organic growth at 10 per cent.

Profit before tax from continuing operations rose to $689m, compared with $656m in 2010. The company's profit before exceptional tax and other charges was up 23 per cent to $1,128m.

"The business today is strongly positioned, more diverse by geography and by industry vertical and is pursuing numerous growth initiatives. Looking ahead, I am confident Experian can build on this success for all its stakeholders," chairman John Peace said.

Chief executive Don Robert added: "Experian delivered premium growth in year. We met or exceeded our financial objectives, our growth programme is gaining pace and, through the agreement to divest certain non-core activities, we have further sharpened our strategic focus on data and analytics.

"For the year ahead, we expect to continue to deliver high-quality growth, consistent with our core financial objectives to deliver mid-high single-digit organic revenue growth, maintain or improve margin and deliver cashflow conversion of more than 90 per cent."

Source:www.insidermedia.com|

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