D&B reported strong first quarter 2008 revenue and earnings growth and confirmed its guidance for the remainder of the year: Revenue was up 8%; operating income grew by 11%; EPS improved by 18% and free Cash Flow of $107 million was up 5%.
D&B confirmed the following full year financial guidance for 2008: Core revenue growth of 8 percent to 10 percent, before the effect of foreign exchange. Operating income growth of 11 percent to 13 percent, or $501 million to $510 million, before non-core gains and charges. Diluted EPS growth of 14 percent to 16 percent, or $5.19 to $5.29, before non-core gains and charges. Free cash flow of $337 million to $352 million, excluding the impact of legacy tax matters.
Subscription revenue for risk management segment is now at 45%, up from 37% a year ago. Its real time and interactive risk management platform DNBi now accounts for two-thirds of total revenue. Customer satisfaction with DNBi is high compared to other non-DNBi products. Consequently D&B is now migrating many of its Value Added products to DNBi. Internet solutions within the US grew by 26%. Hoover’s pace of product innovation is accelerating; First Research has been fully integrated. The AllBusiness acquisition has significantly enhanced D&B’s search engine optimization and marketing capabilities.
D&B’s international business delivered a very strong 13% revenue growth before the effects of foreign exchange, with the recent TSR-D&B joint venture delivering half of D&B International’s growth. With talented leadership in place D&B expects to do well in Asian markets. In Japan it is turning on the heat against its main rival TDB.
D&B Expands In Russia: D&B has entered into a joint venture with Interfax, the leading provider of business information more than quadrupling its Russian database from 800,000 records to 4.2 million records. The new joint venture will trade under the name Interfax-D&B. Source: D&B Press Release
BIIA Newsletter May – 2008 Issue
