Experian dividend unchanged as crisis hits revenue

Experian left its dividend unchanged as the information services company said the Covid-19 crisis and currency swings could reduce first-quarter revenue by up to 15%.

Reporting annual results the FTSE 100 company held its second interim dividend at 32.5 cents a share taking the annual payout to 47 cents a share – up from 46.5 cents a year earlier.

Operating profit for the year to the end of March rose 2% to $1.19bn (£970m) as revenue increased 7% to $5.18bn. Pretax profit fell 2% to $942m. Excluding currency movements operating and pretax profit rose 5%.

Experian, whose business includes checking consumers' credit quality, provided no guidance for the current financial year. It said the situation was volatile and that it would be affected by the effect of Covid-19 stay-home policies on economic activity.

The company said organic revenue declined 5% in April and that if trading trends continue through the first quarter organic revnue would drop by between 5% and 10%. If recent exchange rates persist, including weakness of the Brazilian real, the negative impact on revenue and earnings will be about 5%, Experian said.

Brian Cassin, Experian's chief executive, said: "While we continue to assess the impact of the crisis on our markets, and we expect near-term revenue to be affected, the nature of our business means we have a degree of resilience.

"We are confident that, once the crisis abates, we will be well placed to continue to deliver on our growth agenda. Accordingly, we have held our second interim dividend level at 32.5 cents per share."

Cassin said Experian had not furloughed any employees and was cutting discretionary costs while investing in its business for the longer term. He and other executive directors have waived 25% of their annual salaries for six months. The company has suspended its $400m share buyback plan to conserve cash after purchasing $189m of its own shares.