Experian Plc, the world’s largest credit-checking company, reported third-quarter revenue growth that was little changed and said it expected “modest improvements” in sales growth in the fourth quarter.

So-called organic revenue excluding acquisitions and currency fluctuations rose 1 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, the Dublin-based company said in a statement. That matched growth in the previous two quarters.
“We see further stabilization in parts of North America, we are still cautious on the UK, while the outlook for Latin America is robust,” Chief Executive Officer Don Robert said in the statement.
The company has made two acquisitions in the last four months in e-mail marketing services and expanded into Eastern Europe and South America to counter falling demand for credit services in the UK and the U.S. Sales growth in Latin America rose 16 percent in the quarter, Experian said.
Sales growth in the fourth quarter will be driven by a “strong pipeline” at the company’s Decision Analytics unit, Chief Financial Officer Paul Brooks said on a conference call with reporters. Organic sales may rise by 3 percent, according to estimates from Experian’s house broker Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Experian shares advanced as much as 2.2 percent, the highest gain in a month, to 611.5 pence, and traded at that price as of 09:27 A.M. in London, giving the company a market value of 6.27 billion pounds ($10.2 billion.)
In the U.S., Experian’s largest market, revenue growth declined 1 percent. U.S. house buyers may cut back on taking out mortgages if interest rates rise later this year, Brooks said. “The key deterrent will be interest rates.”
Experian has appointed Victor Nichols head of operations in the U.S., and moved Francisco Valim to London from Brazil to drive growth in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
(Source: Bloomberg)