Experian Regulatory News (EXPN)

news release

Trading update, third quarter 

18 January 2018 ─ Experian, the global information services company, today issues an update on trading for the three months ended 31 December 2017.

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

"We made good progress during our third quarter, with organic revenue growth of 5% and total growth of 8% at actual rates. Performance across our B2B* activities strengthened, and Consumer Services is making good progress in identity protection and credit comparison services. We are confident of further improvement as we move into our traditionally stronger final quarter.

"For the year as a whole we continue to expect organic revenue growth of mid-single digits, 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 31 December 2017

1 Experian reports in US dollars

* B2B = business-to-business activities consists of Credit Services, Decision Analytics and Marketing Services business lines

In the three months ended 31 December 2017, total revenue growth at actual rates was 8%, total revenue growth was 6% at constant exchange rates and organic revenue growth was 5%.

For the Group, organic revenue growth was 8% across B2B and (4%) in Consumer Services.

% change in organic revenue year-on-year for the three months ended 31 December 2017

1 Ongoing activities only, at constant exchange rates

North America

In North America, we delivered organic revenue growth of 5%, with total revenue growth of 7%, the difference largely reflecting the contribution from the Clarity acquisition.

Organic revenue growth across B2B was strong, up 8%, aided by new product introductions, growth in core credit volumes, excellent progress in software and fraud prevention and continued strength in health. Experian Ascend, our next generation analytical sandbox, has been well-received, and we signed several major financial institutions to the service during the quarter, with a robust pipeline.

We made good progress in Consumer Services as the rate of decline moderated further. IdentityWorks continues to grow strongly and we now have 150,000 paying members, with intensifying marketing efforts and new campaigns launched recently. We have also extended the identity proposition, introducing a Family Plan offer during the quarter as well as new pricing tiers. LendingWorks is also making good progress as we add card and loan offers.

Latin America

Latin America delivered another strong quarter of growth, with total and organic revenue up 7% at constant exchange rates. Brazil performed strongly, driven by higher core volumes, reflecting improved market conditions, and recent client wins. We also benefited from continued growth in countercyclical products, progress in the small and medium enterprise client segment and growth in software and analytics, with further PowerCurve installations. During the quarter, we also signed another new long term agreement with a major Brazilian bank to deliver a broad range of services. In Spanish Latin America we secured several new client wins which will help underpin future growth in this part of the region.

UK and Ireland

Total and organic revenue at constant exchange rates in the UK and Ireland was flat, as strength in B2B was offset by Consumer Services. B2B growth was led by consumer information services, credit pre-qualification services, fraud prevention services and strength in digital marketing volumes. There were also sizeable new business wins, including for PowerCurve Collections. In Consumer Services, the rate of decline has continued to moderate, and while subscription revenues for credit monitoring services were lower, we delivered very strong growth in CreditMatcher, where we introduce consumers to loan offers. This forms part of our broader strategy to develop new and engaging offers for consumers, and we continue to build a substantial base of free members, now totalling 3.3m.

EMEA/Asia Pacific

We continue to make strong progress across EMEA/Asia Pacific, where total and organic revenue growth was 12% at constant exchange rates. A strong performance in EMEA was aided by our One Experian approach, delivering integrated data, analytical and software services, while in Asia Pacific growth was primarily led by strong client demand for software and fraud prevention services.

Tax

We note the enactment of the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on 22 December 2017. We continue to review the full implications of this new legislation and, at this stage, we expect the effect of the reduction in the headline tax rate will be broadly offset by the reduction in availability of tax deductions for interest and other Group costs. Our expectation is that Group Benchmark tax rate for the year ending 31 March 2018 will be unchanged from previous guidance, namely in the 26-27% range, and will continue in a broadly similar range for the year ending 31 March 2019.

Future events

Experian will release results for the year ending 31 March 2018 on Thursday 17 May 2018.

Contact:

Experian

Nadia Ridout-Jamieson Investor queries +44 (0)20 3042 4215

Gerry Tschopp Media queries +1 949 677 3377

Finsbury

Rollo Head +44 (0)20 7251 3801

Jenny Davey

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.

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.