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Credit firm weathers UK economic storm
Rosamund Urwin3 Feb 2009
Credit-checking agency Experian today proved it is weathering the economic storm with relative ease.
The group reported organic revenue growth of 5% for the third quarter, factoring out the impact of currency fluctuations, up from 3% growth for the first half of the year. This was partly due to a strong performance from its Consumer Direct division as nervous consumers checked credit scores to see if they would still get loans.
Finance director Paul Brooks said these gains, as well as strong demand for services on the best way lenders can collect debts, and helping them to review loan portfolios, more than offset a drop-off in banks needing Experian to check the credit-worthiness of people applying for loans.
Experian has details of 40 million UK and 200 million US consumers on its books. It expects slower revenue growth in the coming quarter, due to the economy. But it is on-track to meet profit forecasts for the year.
