Latin America

There was excellent organic performance across all activities within Latin America. The strong uplift in margins reflected positive operating leverage. On EBIT, both Serasa and Informarketing exceeded their respective acquisition buy-plans.

1	Growth at constant exchange rates

Year ended 31 March

2009
US$m

2008
US$m

Total
growth¹
%

Organic
growth¹
%

Revenue

– Credit Services

437

305

– Decision Analytics

– Marketing Services

Total Latin America

462

324

EBIT

Total Latin America

118

EBIT margin

25.5%

23.1%

Credit Services

There was strong growth in Credit Services in Brazil. Total revenue increased by 51% at constant exchange rates. Organic revenue growth was 17%, following the annualisation of the acquisition of Serasa (acquired in June 2007). While lending conditions tightened progressively during the year, revenue continued to grow strongly reflecting the relative under-penetration of credit reference products in Brazil.

In consumer information, there was excellent progress across both financial and non-financial verticals, as well as a growing contribution from countercyclical products such as collection notifications. Growth at business information was driven by strong demand for richer reports, which help to better assess risk. In addition, Experian benefited from deeper inroads into the small and mid-sized channel, where penetration of credit risk management products is low.

Decision Analytics

There was a good performance at Decision Analytics, with organic revenue up 31% from a low base. Growth was driven by higher penetration of loan origination software, as well as rising demand for customer segmentation and account management tools.

Marketing Services

There was very strong growth at Marketing Services, where organic revenue increased by 56%. Growth reflected a significant increase in new business wins for data and data enhancement.

Financial review

Revenue was US$462m for Latin America, up 51% at constant exchange rates, reflecting the first full-year contribution from Serasa (Serasa was acquired in June 2007). Organic revenue growth was 18%.

EBIT in the year was US$118m, up 67% at constant exchange rates. The EBIT margin was 25.5% (2008: 23.1%). The margin improvement reflects strong positive operating leverage.

Social, ethical and environmental (SEE) risks and opportunities

Sustainability has long been a key business parameter for Serasa. The company reports to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and has now been listed as one of the 20 most sustainable business models in Brazil. Serasa won nine separate awards as an employer during the year and, as part of its commitment to consumers, is piloting a major new financial education programme aimed at teachers and parents of young people.