Experian posts steady first-half growth

13th Nov 2024 07:27

(Sharecast News) - Experian reported steady first-half growth on Wednesday, driven by a strong performance across its regional markets and business segments.

The FTSE 100 company posted a 6% increase in revenue from ongoing activities to $3.62bn, alongside an 8% rise in benchmark EBIT to $1.01bn.

Benchmark earnings per share rose 8% to 76 cents.

All regions contributed positively, with organic revenue growth of 7% in North America, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

In the UK and Ireland, organic revenue grew 2%.

Consumer services saw a robust 9% organic revenue growth, supported by a rising membership base of over 190 million free members and expanded consumer engagement.

Meanwhile, B2B revenue increased 6%, boosted by growth in analytics, mortgage services, and North American verticals.

Experian said its benchmark EBIT margin rose 60 basis points to 28%, reflecting operational efficiency gains.

The company reported $707m in benchmark operating cash flow, translating to a 71% cash conversion rate, typical of its seasonally-weaker half.

Net debt-to-benchmark EBITDA stood at 2x.

Statutory profit before tax declined 6% to $718m, mainly due to non-cash fluctuations in interest rate swaps.

Basic earnings per share also dropped, by 3% to 60.2 cents.

The firm declared a first interim dividend of 19.25 cents per share, a 7% increase, reflecting its confidence in ongoing strategic initiatives and growth potential.

"We delivered good growth in the first half," said chief executive officer Brian Cassin.

"We continue to execute successfully on our growth strategy to introduce new products, deploy advanced analytics and scale our leading platforms.

"At constant currency and from ongoing activities, revenue was up 7%, benchmark EBIT increased 10%, and benchmark EBIT margin was up by 60 basis points."

Cassin noted that currency was a 1% headwind to revenue and total benchmark EBIT, adding that benchmark earnings per share increased 8% at actual exchange rates.

"For the 2025 financial year, we continue to expect organic revenue growth in the range of 6% to 8%.

"Based on our progress, we are raising our margin outlook, and now expect margin accretion to be towards the upper end of our +30 to +50 basis points guidance range.

"All measures are at constant exchange rates and on an ongoing basis."

At 0846 GMT, shares in Experian were down 1.79% at 3.793p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.