Experian records 1% increase in Q1 profits

EXPERIAN, the world’s largest credit-checking company has reported a 1% increase in first-half revenues.

Revenue from Ireland and Britain was flat however, while the company reported a 5% gain from Asia Pacific.

The Dublin-based company said it expects to at least maintain margins and increase profits for the full-year.

Experian, best known for running consumer credit checks for banks, has come under pressure as lenders tighten the reins on loans and borrowers shy away.

The group said there were signs of stabilisation in the US credit market, though the picture remained weak in Britain.

Chief financial officer Paul Brooks said: “We may have seen the worst in the US consumer credit side.

“We are more cautious about the UK where we did see some softening in the quarter. It is too early to call any kind of stabilisation in the UK.”

Experian has been active on the acquisition trail in recent years.

Mr Brooks said: “There are one or two acquisition opportunities in the pipeline, nothing mega and very much in our core areas of business.”

Experian has been slowly moving into new areas such as government services which include driver licensing checks, the telecoms market and the US healthcare payment system.

Chief executive Don Robert said: “For the year as a whole we remain on track to at least maintain margins, grow profits at constant currency and deliver strong cashflow conversion.”

The strongest growth came again from the interactive division, where customers can look at their credit history online.

This business saw revenues increase by 12% during the period.