p/w of 10 with sales rising 20% YOY and turns around 80% of profit straight to cash worth 10 in my opinion thats why I bought it @ 550p the steal of the century ....

now out of its 90 day average heading toward 700p withing the month as understand the overhang of float shares out of the way

Well it's been a good week overall and it's closed not only above 4 but almost up to 4.50. I wonder if momentum will carry into next week.

I see EXPN made Greystones 'Supermum's Weekly Chart View' for this week:

Greystone - 03 Feb 2008 13:28 - 4 of 5
http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=12511

'shorters' seem to have won out on EXPN today ..... the rest of the week should be 'interesting'.... DOW now back to below what it was at start of 2007.

You have to remember that the banking sector is the main customer here, if the banking sector is volitile due to credit markets then this will have a direct knock on effect. Look at the worst performing shares on the FTSE and DOW today and you have your reason for the fall....

..... but EXPN price movements are often exacerbated ..... it is a 'traders' share ..... shorters move in and out on a regular basis ... often looking at intra-day graph of EXPN against banking sector doesn't always correlate.....

Not always your right, but over the past few weeks it has and shorters whatever you wanna call them like trends to bet agaist........

Presume 'Not always your right' means right some of the time? I've yet to meet anyone who is always right ....

More and more people check their credit report before they apply for credit to give themselves the best chance of success. 40% more people checked their credit report with Experian in January 2008 than in January 2007.
http://www.creditman.biz/uk/members/news-view.asp?newsviewID=8132&id=1&mylocation=News&chksrc=NNow4251

One of the competitors seems to be doing OK under present circumstances:

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2007. Based on unaudited results, revenue increased 26 percent in the fourth quarter to $490.9 million from the fourth quarter 2006. Operating income grew 9 percent to $120.2 million.
http://www.creditman.biz/uk/members/news-view.asp?newsviewid=8142&id=1&mylocation=News

OK then explain why it is that the majority of hits today were either in the banking or finance sectors and this falls.... Suppose that's just coincidence.. Anyway, not here to bash the company, I like a spread and to me EXPN looks very undervalued. The company is on my radar not for shorting mind, just looking for the bottom, people may check their credit reports but watch the TV and its doom and gloom, money isn't moving around and people who can afford too are putting off that buy. This won't last for long I don't think so the sp is due a correction and I think up.

Well, explosive ..... you seem to have gone off with a bang ..... If you care to read back through the posts in this thread you'll find I was a holder (long) on EXPN. Been buying in and out on longs (as trading the shares not SB/CFD). Happy now to sit in a neutral position. Having made some money on it I'm not about to jump in either way at the moment and give those gains away. It is all too volatile. For those of you shorting then good luck. For those of you on holding stock then good luck. As thread has started to get a little sarcastic then I'm content to refrain from posting any thoughts / observations in future on this thread.

Despite the falls in DOW, then it is now only back to level it was at start of 2007.
And given that today The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing index fell to 44.6%, the first contraction since March 2003. The median estimate of economists surveyed by IFR Markets was 53%. Reading below 50% indicate contraction. Then not greatly optimistic .... but as I've already said " I've yet to meet anyone who is always right" (including myself).

The main competitor seems to have teamed up with heavy weight partners in India:

Equifax Inc. said Tuesday it has partnered with two Indian companies to establish a credit bureau in India, where a blossoming economy offers fertile opportunity.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23009876/

Nighty night.

Stellar performance so far from EXPN considering the state of the markets today.

Full year results out this Wednesday, and with an upward trend on the chart I will be interested to see which way the SP go's.


Anyone still in these?

Yep...

Yeep.... in and out .... and presently in..... price still below the level that some Directors bought shares at towards end of last year.
And they're continuing to diversify geographically ..... earlier this month a 50/50 joint venture was announced with Central Communication Bureau in Japan.

21 May 2008

news release

Experian Group Limited

Preliminary results for the year

ended 31 March 2008

Highlights

Good revenue, profit and cash performance against a backdrop of difficult market conditions.

Total revenue growth of 18% at actual exchange rates to US$4.1bn. Revenue from continuing activities up 14% at constant exchange rates to US$4.1bn. Organic revenue growth of 4%.

Total EBIT growth of 15% at actual exchange rates to US$945m. Continuing EBIT up 13% at constant exchange rates.

EBIT margin of 21.8% from continuing activities, excluding FARES contribution, in line with prior year (2007: 21.9%) during period of investment.

Profit before tax of US$549m. Benchmark profit before tax of US$819m.

Basic EPS of 43.3 US cents. Benchmark EPS of 60.3 US cents.

Swift action to improve efficiency and reduce costs, with annualised cost savings target raised to US$110m from US$80m.

Strong contribution from strategically important expansion into Brazil via Serasa, on plan for revenue, ahead on EBIT.

Excellent cash conversion of 95%.

Net debt of US$2.7bn after funding acquisitions of US$1.7bn, mainly Serasa and Hitwise.

Second dividend of 12.0 US cents per share, to give full year dividend of 18.5 US cents per share, up 9%.

John Peace, Chairman of Experian, said:

'Experian has delivered another year of strong revenue and EBIT growth and continues to make excellent strategic progress. This strong outcome in challenging trading conditions demonstrates the strength and diversity of the Experian business.'

Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer of Experian, said:

'This has been a challenging year in many ways. The major disruption that took place in the financial services sector was unprecedented, but we delivered good profit and cash performances. Experian is a strong business, performing well in difficult markets. While it is still too early to call a turn in the US and the UK financial services markets, and US Credit Services continues to soften, we have taken the necessary steps to reduce costs and protect margins and we expect to continue to deliver strong performances in Experian's other regions and key business lines. Although we face strong comparables in the first quarter of this year, when organic revenue may be flat to slightly down, we remain confident on the outlook.'



sp 389p

Reuters - Shares in credit information provider Experian rise 9.3 percent,
making it second on the leaderboard for the FTSE 100 after it posts an 8
percent jump in first half results and says third quarter revenue growth should
also be sound.

The results, which were in line with expectations for Seymour Pierce, prompt
the broker to raise the recomendation on the stock from 'sell' to 'hold'.
'It may be early days but these results demonstrate the resilience of the
Experian model and, although growth has slowed, it is still in-line with our
expectations,' the broker says in a note to clients.

John Peace, Chairman of Experian, said, 'Experian performed well in the first half, delivering good revenue, profit and cash performances, even though market conditions were exceptionally challenging. The Group has strengthened its market position, and is well placed to grow through the current global economic cycle.'

Don Robert, CEO, said, 'Our business continues to perform well. We are adapting to market challenges, which we expect to persist into next year. We are directing the organisation towards emerging countercyclical opportunities and we are further addressing our cost base. Looking ahead, we expect organic revenue growth for the third quarter to be similar to that in the first half. For the year as a whole, our objective remains to broadly maintain margins and to grow profits, while continuing to position the business for long term success.' "

International expansion continues, but I notice that on the downside the SP has gone downhill at the turn of the last 3 years! will have another look in 2/3 weeks time.

Lovely looking chart on this one, but a bit of Director selling today coupled with some institutional selling at the beginning of the month. Might see a little pull back tomorrow which would not be a disaster.

Deutsche Bank broker note out today:
"Experian reported Q4 organic growth rate of 3%, in-line with our forecast of 3.4%, but ahead of consensus at around 2%, and versus Q1 to Q3 all at 1%. Acceleration of growth in Q4 as expected as comps are beginning to ease. As always many moving parts key points 1) US credit services still down -4% in Q4 but on an improving trend vs -6% in Q3 and -8% in Q2 (orgination revs in consumer information still down YoY but business information, healthcare and autos strong). Headline UK credit services at c-8%, showing worsening trend than Q1 to Q3, which were down 5%, but prior year included higher pricing as vols fell.
Adjusting for this, trends in the UK stable to slightly improving. As with Q3, weak origination business, financial services consolidation and market exits, mitigated by good performance in non-financial verticals. LatAm credit still very strong with growth accelerating +20% (Q3 +18%, Q2 13%). 2) Interactive in the US at +10% (up from Q3 at +6% (tough comps with Discover contract) and Q2 at +10%), with strong performances in lead generation as well as at Pricegrabber. No formal outlook statement, but tone is more positive with the UK now on an upward underlying trend and improving customer sentiment across the group. They remain on "buy"
Nothing to change our view - EXPN remains one of our favoured picks and medium term we think that EXPN can generate c7% organic growth and with a more disciplined attitude to acquisitions, cash will be returned to shareholders medium term. EXPN is on a 2011E calendar PE of 13.2x, which does not look expensive given its above sector average FCF yield of 8.8%."

Anyone seen why this one seems to be one of the few loses so far today? on my list anyway.

"Credit checker Experian was a major casualty, down 7p at 733p following a downgrade to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse."