Experian posts 2019 profit rise helped by global growth

Credit reporting company Experian’s profit grew in 2019 thanks to global expansion, with its North America and Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific divisions seeing double digit revenue growth.

Read more: Experian abandons £275m Clearscore merger after competition watchdog probe

The figures

Experian’s profit before tax rose at an actual rate of one per cent, reaching $957m (£741m) for the year ended 31 March 2019 from $950m in 2018.

Its revenue grew six per cent to $4.9bn for the year ended 31 March, from $4.6bn a year earlier.

The company’s benchmark operating cash flow rose six per cent to $1.3bn from $1.2bn in 2018.

Experian’s net debt fell to $3.3bn from $3.4bn a year earlier.

Its basic earnings per share fell to $0.769 for the year ended 31 March 2019, from $0.854 a year earlier.

Experian’s full-year dividend rose to $0.465 per share in 2019, compared to $0.448 per share in 2018.

Why it's interesting

The company, which creates credit reports and scores, said it expects organic revenue growth in the range of six to eight per cent in 2020.

Experian used its results to announce a new share repurchase programme of up to $400m, following the completion of $215m of buybacks in the 2019 financial year.

It said the buybacks showed “continuing commitment to shareholder returns”.

What Experian said

Brian Cassin, chief executive, said: “This was a very good year for Experian. Our investment and innovation agenda delivered strong and broad-based growth with exciting new offers for consumers and businesses.”

He said: “We have strengthened our prospects and expanded our opportunities. Both our B2B [business to business] and consumer services businesses delivered strongly.”