CANBERRA: Equifax Inc. raised its 2015 outlook as the consumer-credit reporting agency reported its third-quarter earnings rose 27%. Shares rose 3.4% to $109.50 in recent after-hours trading as per-share earnings, excluding certain items, beat expectations.
For the year, the company raised its per-share earnings estimate to $4.46 to $4.48 and revenue of $2.652 billion to $2.662 billion, from its previous estimate for per-share profit of $4.38 to $4.42 on revenue of $2.645 billion to $2.67 billion.
Equifax–one of three major U.S. credit-reporting companies, along with rivals TransUnion Corp. and Experian–traditionally made its living by compiling credit information on individuals and selling it to lenders for things such as deciding whether to approve applications for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other borrowings. However, the Atlanta company has been expanding into areas such as credit-card marketing, fraud detection and credit-risk consulting through acquisitions and partnerships.
Over all, Equifax reported a profit of $117.9 million, or 98 cents a share, from $92.7 million, or 75 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding acquisition-related impacts and other items, per-share earnings rose to $1.14 from $1.01.
Revenue increased 8.8% to $667.4 million. Excluding currency impacts, revenue rose 12%. The company expected per-share profit of $1.08 to $1.11 and revenue of $655 million to $670 million. Operating margin rose to 26.1% from 25.1%.
In its U.S. information segment, which includes its consumer business, revenue rose 12% to $312.3 million. In its international segment revenue was flat at $148.8 million, but excluding currency impacts, rose 14%.
For the current quarter, the company forecast per-share earnings of $1.10 to $1.12 and revenue of $655 million to $665 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit of $1.11 and revenue of $668 million.
Equifax is aiming to break into the Australian market with its sweetened bid for one of the country’s biggest credit-reference providers, Veda Group Ltd., in a deal valued at about 2.5 billion Australian dollars (US$1.77 billion). Equifax recently secured the backing of the Sydney company’s board with an increased bid of A$2.825 a share in cash, up from a previous offer of A$2.70 a share.
The planned acquisition would give Equifax a substantial foothold in the region as Australia is adopting a comprehensive credit reporting program that brings it into line with most of the developed world, including many of the countries where Equifax already operates. TransUnion is set to report its third-quarter results on Tuesday, while Experian plans to release its financial report for the six months ended in September on Nov. 10.
