CFD Traders Diary
Experian flourishes during the Credit Crunch
20/5/2009
It seems almost a no-brainer that credit check firm Experian (EXPN) should be raking it in during the Credit Crunch, but evidence of this has taken a long time to arrive. Today though, the group clearly showed how much it is benefiting from the Crunch, as the group announced a near 10% hike in revenues to nearly $4bn, with organic growth steady at 3%. This may not sound overly spectacular but compared to many companies in the financial services sector it is an impressive result. Shares were up 2%, just off the highs of the past year at 500p plus intraday.
A mix of corporate updates drifted in from some of the second liners. Printing money seems to be quite a fashionable occupation at the moment for central banks around the world, but De La Rue (DLAR) is the firm that actually prints the bank notes. Doubtless driven by quantitative easing, the group announced an 18% hike in interim figures, and nearly doubled the dividend. But with the good news seemingly in the price, the stock drifted back 1%.
Soft drinks maker Britvic (BVIC) showed its recession-proof qualities, with rising sales in this country offsetting challenging conditions elsewhere. The group announced a 16% hike in interim pre-tax pre-exceptional profits to £20m, on sales ahead 6% to £483.2m, and the market gave the group the thumbs up after it forecast that it will meet full year expectations.
Less impressive were the results from the London Stock Exchange (LSE), where the recent purchase of Borsa Italiana lead to a hefty write-down taking the company into a loss for the year. Although the shares were down sharply at the open, they recovered slightly and were off around 1.5% by mid morning.
The normally hyperactive banking sector took a breather today, at least in share price terms, although Lloyds Banking (LLOY) was in the news again. Concerns that the EU may yet intervene in terms of the deal the UK Government struck to help Lloyds "merge" with HBOS weighed on the shares, added to which Lloyds is now ex-entitlement as regards the forthcoming placing
