Latin America growth drives Experian revenue hike of 12%

EXPERIAN, the world’s largest credit-checking company, has said that its third-quarter revenue rose 12%, led by growth in Latin America.

Revenue, excluding the effect of acquisitions, increased 8% in the period on a year-on-year basis, the Dublin-based company said. Its forecast for the full year has remained unchanged.

Experian spent more than $200 million buying companies and expects net proceeds of around $250m from the sale of its stake in the First American Real Estate Solutions joint venture in December, according to chief financial officer Paul Brooks.

Yesterday, the company bought a majority stake in Techlightenment, a British-based provider of social media marketing tools.

Experian has a “reasonably strong” acquisition pipeline, Mr Brooks added. “Prices are reasonably full and there is no sign of distressed sales.”

Experian’s forecasts for the full year remain unchanged, said Mr Brooks. The analyst consensus for earnings before interest and tax in fiscal 2011 is for 11% growth to $1.04 billion, he said.

Experian is looking to expand in Latin America, eastern Europe and Asia where it sees some of the best opportunities for growth.

The company has expanded into emerging markets where credit is less easily available to offset declining demand in the US and Britain after the financial crisis.

Revenue in Latin America surged 18% at constant exchange rates in the third quarter. Total sales in North America, including acquisitions, rose 13%, while sales in Britain and Ireland increased 4%. In the rest of the world, total sales increased 14%.