REG - Experian plc - Full-year financial report
15/05/2024 07:00
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RNS Number : 4341O Experian plc 15 May 2024
news release
Another year of strong growth: new medium-term outlook
7am, 15 May 2024 ─ Experian plc, the global data and technology company,
today issues its financial report for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Brian Cassin, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"FY24 growth was at the top end of our expectations. Total revenue growth from
ongoing activities was 8% at actual exchange rates and 7% at constant exchange
rates. Organic revenue growth was 6%, we raised margins and delivered US$1.9bn
of operating cashflow.
"For FY25, we expect further strategic progress and expect to deliver organic
revenue growth in the range of 6-8%. We also expect good margin expansion, in
the range of 30-50 basis points, at constant currency.
"Looking further ahead, we expect the combination of economic recovery,
continued new product and vertical market expansion as well as productivity
gains from technology cloud transition to elevate our financial performance.
We anticipate strong organic revenue growth, good margin accretion and reduced
levels of capital expenditure."
Benchmark and Statutory financial highlights
2024 2023 Actual rates growth % Constant rates growth % Organic growth %(2)
US$m
US$m
Benchmark¹
Revenue - ongoing activities(3) 7,056 6,548 8 7 6
Benchmark EBIT - ongoing activities(3,4) 1,944 1,798 8 7 n/a
Total Benchmark EBIT 1,928 1,794 7 7 n/a
Benchmark EPS USc145.5 USc135.1 8 7 n/a
Statutory
Revenue 7,097 6,619 7 n/a n/a
Operating profit 1,694 1,265 34 n/a n/a
Profit before tax 1,551 1,174 32 n/a n/a
Basic EPS USc131.3 USc84.2 56 n/a n/a
Total dividend USc58.50 USc54.75 7 n/a n/a
1. See Appendix 1 (page 15) and note 5 to the financial statements for
definitions of non-GAAP measures.
2. Organic revenue growth is at constant currency.
3. Revenue and Benchmark EBIT for the year ended 31 March 2023 have been
re-presented for the reclassification to exited business activities of certain
Business-to-Business (B2B) businesses, detail is provided in notes 6(a) and 7
to the financial statements.
4. See page 16 for reconciliation of Benchmark EBIT from ongoing activities to
Profit before tax.
Highlights
· Strong FY24 performance, with growth improving as the year
progressed. Q4 organic growth was 8%, resulting in 6% for the full year. Total
FY24 revenue growth from ongoing activities was 7% at constant exchange rates,
and 8% at actual rates.
· Consumer Services organic revenue grew 7%. We now serve over 180
million free members as we continue to expand our products and services to
help our members navigate their financial lives.
· B2B organic revenue grew 5%. Our broad portfolio of data, analytics
and software offerings, and high-growth verticals drove performance.
· All regions and segments delivered organic revenue growth for the
year. Latin America achieved double-digit growth, with a solid performance in
North America. UK and Ireland growth was resilient and EMEA and Asia Pacific
growth accelerated.
· Benchmark EBIT from ongoing activities rose 8% to US$1,944m, with a
Benchmark EBIT margin of 27.6%, up 10 basis points at actual rates and
constant currency.
· Strong flow-through to EPS. Benchmark EPS growth of 8%, and 7% at
constant exchange rates. Basic EPS up 56%.
· Benchmark operating cash flow was US$1.9bn, a conversion of 97%.
· Strong financial returns and position, driven by capital discipline
and strategic execution. ROCE of 17% and Net debt to EBITDA of 1.7x.
· Statutory profit before tax of US$1,551m, up 32% (FY23: US$1,174m),
due to revenue growth and reduced non-benchmark costs compared to the prior
year.
· Full-year dividend up 7% to USc 58.5 per ordinary share.
Experian
Nadia Ridout-Jamieson Investor
queries
+44 (0)20 3042 4220
Nick Jones Media
queries
Teneo
Graeme Wilson, Louise Male and Jessica
Reid
+44 (0)20 7353 4200
There will be a presentation today at 9.30am (UK time) to analysts and
investors via webcast. To view the slides and listen in online please go to
experianplc.com (http://www.experianplc.com) for the link.
Experian will update on first quarter trading for FY25 on 16 July 2024.
Roundings
Certain financial data has been rounded within this announcement. As a result
of this rounding, the totals of data presented may vary slightly from the
actual arithmetic totals of such data.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements.
Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ
materially from any expected future events or results referred to in these
forward-looking statements. See note 28 to the financial statements for
further information on risks and uncertainties facing Experian.
Company website
Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content of any website
accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website), is
incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
About Experian
Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for
people and businesses around the world. We help to redefine lending practices,
uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing
solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using our
unique combination of data, analytics and software. We also assist millions of
people to realise their financial goals and help them to save time and money.
We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare,
automotive, agrifinance, insurance, and many more industry segments.
We invest in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power
of data and innovate. As a FTSE 100 Index company listed on the London Stock
Exchange (EXPN), we have a team of 22,500 people across 32 countries. Our
corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at experianplc.com.
Part 1 - Chief Executive Officer's review
FY24 was another strong year for Experian. We saw good momentum across our
business and made considerable strategic progress. Total revenue growth from
ongoing activities of 8% at actual rates and organic revenue growth of 6% were
at the top end of our guidance range. We were successful too in the conversion
of revenue into Benchmark EBIT, Benchmark EPS and cash. We have continued to
see good contributions from new products during the year as well as
competitive success in the market. This year we introduced Experian Smart
Money and we also saw great early success from our consumer insurance
marketplace in North America, whilst we continue to enhance our product
capabilities in Brazil. In B2B, we expanded our product suite across our
verticals, launched important extensions to our Ascend Platform globally, made
very good progress in expanding our fraud prevention capabilities, and our
income verification business continues to grow, with progress in North America
and the UK and emerging capabilities in Latin America.
We are excited about the progress we have made in FY24, which builds on work
done over many years to create new paths for growth in large and growing
addressable markets. We have made substantial progress, expanding our Consumer
Services businesses, driving higher adoption of our integrated platforms,
broadening and deepening client relationships across several industry
verticals, diversifying our business in Brazil, and transforming our EMEA and
Asia Pacific operations. We have also deployed our capital inorganically where
targets meet our strict criteria for strategic fit and financial discipline
and in FY24, we bolstered our position in Health, expanded our services in
Brazil and added to our data quality operations in the UK & Ireland
(UK&I). After the period end, we announced an agreement to acquire illion,
which will transform our market position in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ),
another step in the evolution of our operations in EMEA and Asia Pacific.
While we have continued to invest in these initiatives and others, we have
delivered resiliently throughout a period of significant challenge in global
markets with high single-digit compound growth across all of our key financial
metrics including five-year compound growth in revenue of 8%, Benchmark EBIT
of 8%, operating cashflow of 8% and Benchmark EPS of 8%. We believe that the
business is well positioned to drive top-line growth, and as lending market
softness recedes, as we expect it will, this will further underpin our
ambitions. Our strategic focus remains firmly on driving long term organic
growth, however, the progress made to date in building scale in our businesses
and transforming our technology estate provide us with the potential to
achieve that whilst benefitting from greater operating leverage going
forward.
This year also saw us make great progress in important foundational areas
which are critical strategic enablers to help support our next phase of
growth. We are proud of Experian's reputation as a great place to work,
helping us to attract and retain the best talent in our industries. This year
we have been certified as a Great Place to Work in 24 countries, with employee
engagement scores which are best-in-class and for the fifth year in a row, our
global client Net Promoter Scores have increased.
No progress would be possible without the dedication and support of our 22,500
talented people. We are proud of our culture, having created an environment
which is collaborative, inclusive and which encourages idea generation. Our
colleagues around the world put our customers at the heart of everything we
do, and this helps to unlock many opportunities. I would like to thank all my
Experian colleagues for their outstanding commitment and support over this
year.
FY25 guidance and medium-term financial outlook
For FY25, we expect credit conditions to remain reasonably subdued and our
growth to be driven by strong performance across our portfolio with continued
expansion and contributions from newer products. Organic revenue growth is
expected to be in the range of 6-8%. We expect good margin expansion, in the
range of 30-50 basis points, at constant currency.
As highlighted above, in recent years, we have driven resilient performance
against a soft consumer credit environment whist investing for growth and
transforming many aspects of our business. This has put us in a position to
drive strong top-line growth, expand on investments made in recent years while
gradually benefitting from a normalising credit environment.
Collectively, we are confident in our financial prospects in FY25 and beyond.
We will drive revenue growth through delivery of our strategic commitments.
These are to:
· grow B2B globally through new data, product introductions and
adoption of integrated platforms;
· broaden and deepen client relationships to grow wallet share and
extend in higher growth verticals and segments;
· elevate Consumer Services growth, led by increased member
engagement, marketplace scaling and new contributions from payments, while
helping hundreds of millions of consumers thrive on their financial journey;
· increase the contribution from Brazil and Spanish Latin America,
the UK&I, and EMEA and Asia Pacific.
We have made considerable progress on the delivery of our cloud-native
technology infrastructure, as well as on productivity opportunities through
the greater use of GenAI, automation and offshoring. Over the coming two
years, we will materially complete our cloud technology transition in North
America and Brazil, at which point 85-90% of our non-health processing
capacity will be in the cloud in these two regions. In the UK&I and EMEA
and Asia Pacific, we are earlier in our journey, but still expect to progress
to between 45-50% in the cloud over the same period. Investment in technology
cloud transformation will peak in our largest regions and will largely be
completed over the next two years. With the majority of the migration
investment completing in our largest regions, this will step-up our pace of
innovation, support software delivery at scale, improve customer experiences
and enhance productivity. It will also reduce investments in technology
transition and dual running costs. The programme will reduce our capital
expenditure as a percentage of revenue, which we expect to trend from c. 9% to
c. 7% over the medium term.
Looking ahead, the combination of economic recovery, continued growth from
vertical market expansion and new product contributions alongside productivity
benefits from completing the technology cloud transition will sustain high
single-digit rates of organic revenue growth, good levels of annual margin
accretion and deliver reduced levels of capital expenditure.
FY24 financial highlights
· Revenue growth was at the top end of our expected performance
range. Total revenue growth from ongoing activities was 8% at actual exchange
rates, 7% at constant currency. Organic revenue growth was 6%.
· All four of our regions contributed positively to our
performance. Organic revenue growth was 5% in North America, 13% in Latin
America, 2% in the UK&I and 7% in EMEA and Asia Pacific.
· We closed the year strongly. By quarter, organic revenue growth
was 5% in Q1, 5% in Q2, 6% in Q3 and 8% in Q4.
· Consumer Services organic revenue growth was 7%. We grew to over
180 million free members. Our expanded portfolio of offerings drove revenue
growth in Brazil, and premium subscriptions, our expanding insurance
marketplace and partner solutions benefitted North America.
· B2B organic revenue growth was 5%. Revenue growth along with our
diversified portfolio mix helped offset muted credit conditions across more
mature markets such as the USA and the UK.
· We delivered good progress in Benchmark EBIT from ongoing
activities, up 7% at constant and up 8% at actual exchange rates. EBIT margin
increased by 10 basis points at both constant and actual exchange rates to
27.6%.
· We delivered strong growth in Benchmark earnings per share, which
increased by 7% at constant exchange rates driven by revenue performance and
margin expansion. Basic EPS was USc131.3 (2023: USc84.2), up 56%.
· Cash flow conversion was strong and we converted 97% of Benchmark
EBIT into Benchmark operating cash flow. Benchmark operating cash flow at
actual exchange rates was US$1,864m, reflecting 6% growth.
· We continued to invest in data, technology and new products
through capital expenditure, which represented 9% of revenue.
· We invested US$512m in acquisitions to support our strategic
initiatives. After the year end, we announced an agreement to acquire illion,
a commercial and credit bureau in A/NZ for up to AU$820m. We expect this
transaction to complete during H2 FY25.
· We ended the year with Net debt to Benchmark EBITDA of 1.7x,
compared to our target range of 2.0-2.5x.
· We have completed our FY24 share repurchase programme for a net
cash consideration of US$129m, of which net cash spend during FY24 was US$100m
and US$29m during April 2024. These repurchases offset deliveries under
employee share plans. We are also announcing that we will commence a net up to
US$150m share repurchase programme in FY25, which will again offset deliveries
under employee share plans.
· We have announced a second interim dividend of USc40.50 per
share, up 7%. This will be paid on 19 July 2024 to shareholders on the
register at the close of business on 21 June 2024.
· ROCE was 17.0%, up 50 basis points on the prior year.
FY24 strategic highlights
Our FY24 performance reflects continued progress towards delivery of our
long-term strategy.
In our B2B business, we lead with our rich and unique datasets and extend
further into analytics and related software solutions to help address client
needs and to expand across new client segments. We leverage advanced
technologies and Artificial Intelligence to drive solutions across credit,
marketing, identity, and fraud prevention. Not only is our product portfolio
one of the broadest and most comprehensive, it is also now more connected and
integrated. This means we become embedded into client workflows and open new
opportunities to expand by providing trusted insights for businesses across
their customers' lifecycle.
Within our Consumer Services business, we strive to become the pre-eminent
consumer finance platform. We are focused on product innovation to help our
members improve outcomes and engage further with our offerings. This can range
from helping consumers build their credit through Experian Smart Money, save
on car insurance through our marketplace, or facilitate payments through our
Serasa e-wallet. Importantly, we are increasingly focused on maximising
synergies between our B2B and Consumer Services businesses to leverage the
full power of Experian and to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace.
Highlights of our strategic progress in FY24 include:
In Business-to-Business:
· Ascend continues to gain traction with clients and establish
itself as an industry leader. Global Ascend revenue of US$184m increased 19%
vs the prior year.
· Our software solutions across analytics, decisioning, and
identity and fraud prevention have benefited from cross-sell initiatives, with
48% of software clients now purchasing two or more products.
· We have progressed well in our strategy to expand into the
Verification Solutions and Employer Services markets. During the year, we
added 94 new clients to our Verification Solutions business and 337 new
clients in Employer Services. We now have 54 million active records in North
America from a combination of our payroll partners and Employer Services
clients.
· The introduction of positive data in Brazil continues to be a
driver of enhanced solutions and accelerated revenue growth. We have invested
in continuous expansion of our positive data product portfolio with 211
products in the market across areas such as data, scores, fraud prevention,
and analytics.
· We have made targeted investments in Brazil beyond our core
credit offering, with a focus on increasingly digitised markets such as
agrifinance and verifications. Agrifinance continued to perform well as we
leverage our data and analytics capabilities to unlock growth in a sector that
has historically found it difficult to access credit.
· In North America Automotive, we continue to outpace the
underlying market as we leverage our proprietary data and solutions to
multiple areas beyond core credit. Notably, we have grown marketing revenue by
double digits, with continued expansion of our product suite.
· In North America Health, our product innovations continue to be
recognised in the marketplace. We earned the top KLAS ranking for the second
consecutive year in the Claims Management and Clearinghouse and Revenue Cycle:
Contract Management categories for our ClaimSource and Contract Manager
products. We remain deeply embedded with our clients, and now sell an average
of over nine products per client.
· In North America Targeting, we continue to leverage our Experian
marketing data alongside our unique offline and digital graphs to give our
clients a holistic view of their audiences. We are well positioned for the
continued shift of advertising dollars to the digital space, with 65% of North
America Targeting revenue now sourced from digital channels.
· We now include "pay-in-4" buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) loan
information from Apple Pay Later in consumer credit reports, the first major
BNPL Programme in North America to fully furnish this information to Experian.
Experian's role as the first credit bureau receiving Apple Pay Later loan
information underscores our commitment to drive industry transparency while
protecting consumers.
· In the UK & Ireland, we extended our market position through
data superiority and product innovations that address market needs. These have
led to significant new client wins, including our largest ever client contract
in the UK&I. We have also made investments beyond core credit, such as in
the Verifications market, where we now have contracted 82% of the UK PAYE.
· In EMEA and Asia Pacific, our transformation is well underway as
we have repositioned the business to focus on our scale markets. Growth
drivers across our geographies centre around our software offerings, including
identity and fraud (ID&F), decisioning, and analytics. Our geographic
focus drove regional margin expansion of 50 basis points year-on-year. After
the year end, we announced an agreement to acquire illion, one of the leading
consumer and commercial credit bureaux in Australia and New Zealand.
In Consumer Services:
· We continue to grow our membership base as we enhance our
products and expand into new categories. Globally, free memberships grew to
over 180m.
· We launched Experian Smart Money in North America, our no-fee and
no minimums digital checking account, which helps consumers build credit
without taking on additional debt. We are pleased with progress so far with
640,000 accounts opened, and Smart Money consumers showing increased
engagement throughout our platform.
· We launched Boost for Insurance, which has already added 1.2m
tradelines and along with our online education tool Insurance Hub, has helped
drive further engagement in our ecosystem. We have also grown our position
with new insurance carriers during the year to our marketplace and have
delivered an accelerated trend in policy growth as we have onboarded these new
carriers.
· 80% of Experian members have a pre-approved offer in our North
America marketplace, supported by our partners leveraging our Ascend
capabilities in our consumer ecosystem.
· In Brazil, Limpa Nome remains a key growth driver as more
consumers utilise our service to renegotiate their debts and re-enter the
credit markets. US$14.5bn of consumer debts were resolved with our help in
FY24. Our e-wallet also gained traction in the market as we see increased
volumes and more engagement from consumers.
· The growth of our consumer platforms and free member base enabled
further good margin progress, up 140 basis points in the year and up around
400 basis points over five years.
Strengthening our foundations
· We have made significant progress in developing the Experian
GenAI Platform, an ecosystem of tools to power both internal and external
GenAI use cases, which leverage Experian data safely and securely.
· We have expanded GenAI productivity tools and products by
utilising a global One Experian strategy. We started the roll out of our code
development assistant to our large developer base and began implementation of
other end use productivity tools across the organisation. Highlights of our
product development progress include incorporating Experian GPT into both a
Digital Financial Assistant and our Ascend Platform.
· Our employer brand and distinctive culture positions Experian as
a technology employer of choice, both internally and externally. Based on our
ongoing efforts and our Great Place to Work survey scores, we are now
certified as a Great Place to Work in 24 countries, including achieving this
accreditation in Canada, Norway and Spain for the first time this year. Our
overall employee engagement increased by one point to 83% and we saw promising
improvements across a range of categories.
· For the fifth year in a row, our global client Net Promoter
Scores have increased, driven by an increase in promoters.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
· As our approach to improving financial health matures, we have
focused more on the positive social impact our products can deliver. We have
therefore articulated a new ambition, which is to help people thrive on their
financial journey. We have developed a new Positive Social Impact Framework
that will help us measure progress towards this ambition. It defines positive
social impact as a favourable and measurable change that occurs in someone's
financial journey as a result of interacting with an Experian product. We are
developing a methodology to report on this in the future.
· Over 15 million consumers have now connected to Experian Boost in
the USA, helping millions improve their credit scores. Experian Go has now
helped around 210,000 'credit invisible' US consumers to establish their
financial identity. We have received a BIG Innovation award three years
running, recognising each of these products.
· Our social innovation products, specifically developed to deliver
societal benefits and improve financial health, have reached a further 8
million people this year.
· Our United for Financial Health programme to improve financial
education among disadvantaged communities has now connected with 146 million
people since launch in 2020, exceeding our target of 100 million people by
2024.
· We pride ourselves on our 'People first' culture. This year we
were listed in the Top 50 UK and Top 100 US Glassdoor Best Places to Work
2024, and 87% of our employees agreed they can be themselves at Experian. We
have set new gender diversity targets to increase the proportion of women in
our senior leaders to 40%, in our mid-level leaders to 41%, and in our total
workforce to 48% by 2027.
· Our Board continues to comprise 45% women and includes two
ethnically diverse Board members. This meets the recommendations of the FTSE
Women Leaders Review on gender diversity and the Parker Review on ethnic
diversity.
• This year we have increased our renewable energy usage from 62% to
75%, contributing to a 75% reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions since
2019, ahead of our 50% reduction by 2030 target. We have also set a new Scope
3 emissions target, that suppliers covering 78% of Experian's spend on
Purchased Goods and Services, Upstream Leased Assets, Capital Goods, and
Investments are to have science-based targets by 2029, which is being
submitted to the SBTi for validation. We were recognised as a Supplier
Engagement Leader in the 2023 CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard.
Other financial developments
Benchmark profit before tax (PBT) was US$1,789m, up 7% at actual exchange
rates, after net interest expense of US$139m (2023: US$124m). Our interest
expense increased only modestly despite the rise in market rates due to our
forward rate fixing programme. For FY25, we expect net interest expense to be
in the range of US$135-US$140m.
The benchmark tax rate was 25.7% (2023: 26.0%) reflecting the mix of profits
and prevailing tax rates by territory, and a one-off benefit from the
recognition of historical UK tax losses. We expect our effective tax rate on
Benchmark PBT in FY25 will be around 26-27%.
Our Benchmark EPS was USc145.5, an increase of 8% at actual exchange rates and
7% at constant exchange rates. For FY25, we expect weighted average number of
ordinary shares (WANOS) of c.914m.
Foreign exchange translation was a +1% benefit to Benchmark EPS for the full
year. For FY25, we expect the foreign exchange translation effect to be
neutral to a 1% headwind on revenue and Benchmark EBIT, assuming recent
foreign exchange rates prevail.
Non-benchmark items:
· Profit before tax was US$1,551m, up from US$1,174m, as a result
of growth, the charge for a goodwill impairment in the prior year and reduced
non-benchmark costs.
· We have incurred a charge of US$4m (2023: US$45m) for increased
contingent consideration.
Reconciliation of statutory to Benchmark measures for the year ended 31 March
2024
Statutory Non-benchmark and other items Benchmark
Investment- Amortisation of acquisition intangibles Non-cash financing items Exceptional items(2)
related items(1)
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
7,056 - - - - 7,056 Ongoing
41 - - - - 41 Exited
Revenue 7,097 - - - - 7,097 Revenue
1,710 40 193 - 1 1,944 Ongoing
(16) - - - - (16) Exited
Operating profit 1,694 40 193 - 1 1,928 Benchmark EBIT
Profit before tax 1,551 41 193 3 1 1,789 Benchmark PBT
Basic EPS USc 131.3 4.1 15.2 0.2 (5.3) 145.5 Benchmark EPS USc
1. Investment-related items include the Group's share of continuing
associates' Benchmark post-tax results.
2. Exceptional items are analysed in note 8 to the financial statements.
Part 2 - Regional highlights for the year ended 31 March 2024
Year-on-year % change in organic¹ revenue - for the twelve months ended 31 Benchmark
March 2024
EBIT
margin²
% of Group revenue³ Data Decisioning B2B Consumer Services Total Total
North America 66 4 5 5 6 5 32.9%
Latin America 16 8 14 9 26 13 32.5%
UK and Ireland 12 5 0 3 1 2 21.5%
EMEA and Asia Pacific 6 4 14 7 n/a 7 3.6%
Total global 100 5 6 5 7 6 27.6%
1. At constant exchange rates.
2. At actual exchange rates.
3. Percentage of Group revenue from ongoing activities calculated based on
FY24 revenue at actual exchange rates.
North America
North America performance was good. Revenue was US$4,659m, with organic
revenue growth of 5%. Total constant currency revenue growth was 5% including
the contribution from a health acquisition completed during the year.
B2B organic revenue growth was 5%, driven by new products, new client wins,
and the breadth of our portfolio.
Consumer and Business Information Services grew 4% organically for the year,
excluding mortgage. Growth was driven by our focus on innovative data,
analytics and software to win new business and expand deeper into existing
customer workflows. Lenders continued to maintain a cautious stance around
credit supply, which impacted credit volumes. We saw strong growth from
Clarity, our leading alternative credit bureau, which has benefited from
enhanced analytical solutions and strong client demand. We also continue to
solidify our position in Employer and Verification Solutions, with over 400
new client logos added during the year across the two businesses. We continue
to secure records by utilising our Employer Services capabilities and through
payroll partnerships. Coverage increased to 54 million active employment
records on US individuals. Mortgage profile revenue declined by 1% as lower
inquiry volumes were almost entirely offset by higher pricing.
Our vertical lines of business also performed well. Automotive revenue grew 8%
as we capitalise on our unique data and deep client relationships. Health
revenue increased by 7% reflecting growth across all major product lines. We
continue to increase penetration across our provider base and help our clients
navigate the complex and increasingly digitising healthcare system. Targeting
delivered 5% growth and benefitted from our differentiated consumer data,
paired with our leading digital identity graph.
Consumer Services revenue grew by 6% for the full year. Our FY24 growth
benefitted from the breadth of our revenue sources, reflecting growth across
premium memberships and partner solutions.
We continue to grow our membership base and extend the services we offer to
help consumers manage their daily financial lives. We introduced Experian
Smart Money in October, a digital checking account which helps consumers build
credit. It also helps to drive engagement, with Smart Money consumers showing
increased interaction with the rest of the Experian platform. Our insurance
ecosystem continues to take shape. We have seen strong engagement from new
offerings this year such as Boost with Insurance, which adds eligible on-time
payments to Experian credit reports, and our Insurance Hub, which educates
prospective buyers on the purchase process. Insurance carriers are recognising
the utility of participating in our platform and four major providers launched
in scale during the year. Strong insurance revenue momentum helped mitigate
the impact of tighter credit supply in our credit marketplace.
Within premium membership, we launched subscription cancellations to help our
members save money on unwanted recurring payments. Premium membership revenue
was solid as consumers utilised our resources to monitor their credit health
and improve their prospects to access credit during this period of tighter
market supply. Partner Solutions performed strongly during the year,
benefitting from non-recurring data breach service revenue.
We remain focused on leveraging our unique position in both B2B and Consumer
Services to benefit both customer bases. Experian Activate is a prime example
of this, as we utilise our Ascend technology to help our business clients
better access our member population, and it has resulted in improvements in
both conversion rates and consumer engagement. We also recently piloted a
GenAI-powered Digital Financial Assistant to create a highly personalised
automated experience which leverages consumer-permissioned data. We expect
this next-generation solution to further drive up the engagement with
consumers on our platform.
Benchmark EBIT rose 4% to US$1,531m. The Benchmark EBIT margin reduced 20
basis points to 32.9%. Margins reflected the mix of growth, investments in our
verification solutions and our insurance marketplace and our innovations
across our scaling verticals.
Latin America
Latin America performance was strong, with revenue from ongoing activities of
US$1,107m increasing by 13% organically and total constant currency revenue
growing by 16%. Contributing acquisitions included a new credit bureau in
Panama and four small acquisitions in Brazil: Agrosatélite, MOVA, AllowMe and
Flexpag.
B2B organic revenue growth was 9%.
The credit market in Brazil continues to evolve following the introduction of
positive and new open data assets. We have leveraged this market change to
expand our capabilities and extend our competitive position, as well as to
improve access to credit in the Brazilian market. In FY24, we enhanced the
positive data solutions in our analytical portfolio, as we continue to
innovate around new scores and attributes and see increasing demand for our
products. Small and medium enterprise revenue saw strong growth for the year
driven by new client acquisition. Our Agrifinance vertical, while still in its
early stages, is outperforming expectations. We are striving to build the
leading information bureau for decision-making and risk monitoring in
Brazilian agribusiness and facilitate access to credit for millions of farmers
over the coming years.
Spanish Latin America grew well, reflecting growth across our core bureau
geographies of Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Panama. We are seeing strong uptake
of our new digital solutions and identity and fraud management offerings at
large customers and are extending our position with SMEs as we focus on client
acquisition and deepening initiatives.
Consumer Services organic revenue growth was 26%. We continue to successfully
grow our brand in Brazil, with the ambition to become one of the pre-eminent
financial services providers in the region. Our debt resolution service, Limpa
Nome, was a key driver of growth as we settled US$14.5bn of debt on the
platform during the year. We continue to invest to drive engagement in our
platform, including through recent inorganic investments which have enhanced
our e-wallet solution and brought more functionality to consumers.
Benchmark EBIT in Latin America was US$360m, up 18% at constant exchange
rates. The Benchmark EBIT margin from ongoing activities at actual exchange
rates was 32.5%, up by 60 basis points. FY24 margin benefitted from continued
scaling of the Consumer Services business.
UK and Ireland
The UK and Ireland delivered solid performance despite continued underlying
market softness. Revenue from ongoing activities was US$840m with total
constant currency growth at 3% and organic revenue growth of 2%.
In B2B, organic revenue increased by 3% as we deepened market penetration
despite economic headwinds and volume challenges. Our innovative new products,
are a key growth contributor, and are supporting cross-business unit
opportunities. Data superiority is also differentiating us in the marketplace
and driving key wins this past year across FinTech, government, and
traditional players.
In Consumer Services, organic revenue was up by 1%. The year was impacted by a
weak lending market, but a combination of product enhancements and execution
improvements have helped mitigate the impact and support growth. Our
subscription business gained momentum in paid subscribers towards the end of
the year and our marketplace exited FY24 strongly as well as we leveraged
strength in our lender panel and more personalised consumer engagements.
Benchmark EBIT from ongoing activities was US$181m, up 3% at constant exchange
rates. The Benchmark EBIT margin from ongoing activities was 21.5% (2023:
21.6%), which reflects cost discipline, and offsets the impact of lower credit
volumes.
EMEA and Asia Pacific
In EMEA and Asia Pacific, revenue from ongoing activities was US$450m, with
organic growth of 7% and total growth at constant exchange rates of 8%. The
difference relates to the acquisition of a small cloud-based decisioning
business. Data delivered organic revenue growth of 4% while Decisioning
delivered strong growth, up 14%.
EMEA and Asia Pacific has continued its transformation process. Revenues are
on a stronger trajectory and profitability has improved markedly. We see
further scope to improve profitability as we focus on innovation-led growth,
including through new scores and attributes and new fraud prevention
capabilities.
Our actions have improved Benchmark EBIT performance, which for ongoing
activities was US$16m, up 23% at actual exchange rates. The Benchmark EBIT
margin for ongoing activities improved to 3.6% from 3.1% in FY23.
FY25 modelling considerations
Organic revenue growth 6-8%
Benchmark EBIT margin¹ Good margin improvement +30-50 basis points
Foreign exchange c. 0% to (1%) on revenue and Benchmark EBIT
Net interest c. US$135-140m
Benchmark tax rate 26-27%
WANOS² c. 914m
Capital expenditure c. 9% of revenue
OCF³ conversion >90%
Share repurchases US$150m
1. At constant exchange rates.
2. Weighted average number of shares.
3. Benchmark operating cash flow.
Medium term outlook
Organic revenue growth High-single-digits
Benchmark EBIT margin¹ Good margin improvement
+30-50 basis points per annum
Capital expenditure Trend to c. 7% of revenue
Group financial results
Business mix including % change in organic revenue year-on-year for the year
ended 31 March 2024
Segment Business unit % of Group revenue¹ Organic revenue growth %²
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FY
North America 66% 4% 4% 5% 7% 5%
Data CI/BI bureaux 23% 1% 2% 2% 9% 3%
- CI/BI bureaux, excluding mortgage 21% 2% 2% 3% 8% 4%
- Mortgage Profiles 2% (8)% (3)% (6)% 11% (1)%
Automotive 5% 8% 7% 10% 6% 8%
Targeting 4% 9% 5% 3% 6% 5%
Decisioning Health 8% 9% 6% 7% 7% 7%
DA/Other 4% 3% 2% (1)% 4% 2%
Consumer Consumer Services 22% 3% 5% 9% 6% 6%
Latin America 16% 13% 10% 13% 13% 13%
Data CI/BI bureaux 10% 9% 6% 10% 7% 8%
Other 0% 0% (29)% (11)% 96% 15%
Decisioning DA/Other 3% 15% 9% 12% 17% 14%
Consumer Consumer Services 3% 26% 38% 26% 19% 26%
UK and Ireland 12% 1% 2% 3% 5% 2%
Data CI/BI bureaux 5% 1% 6% 9% 6% 5%
Targeting/Auto 1% 6% (1)% 11% (9)% 1%
Decisioning DA/Other 3% 0% 3% (6)% 3% 0%
Consumer Consumer Services 3% (2)% (5)% 0% 11% 1%
EMEA and Asia Pacific 6% 8% 8% 7% 6% 7%
Total global 100% 5% 5% 6% 8% 6%
1. Percentage of Group revenue from ongoing activities calculated based on
FY24 revenue at actual exchange rates.
2. Ongoing activities, at constant exchange rates.
CI = Consumer Information, BI = Business Information, DA = Decision Analytics.
Revenue by region
Year ended 31 March 2024 2023¹ Growth %
US$m US$m
Total at actual exchange rates Total at constant exchange rates Organic at constant exchange rates
North America
Data 2,231 2,142 4 4
Decisioning 889 837 6 5
Business-to-Business 3,120 2,979 5 5
Consumer Services 1,539 1,453 6 6
Total ongoing activities 4,659 4,432 5 5 5
Exited business activities - -
Total North America 4,659 4,432
Latin America
Data 669 573 12 8
Decisioning 213 176 15 14
Business-to-Business 882 749 13 9
Consumer Services 225 165 30 26
Total ongoing activities 1,107 914 21 16 13
Exited business activities 20 33
Total Latin America 1,127 947
UK and Ireland
Data 423 388 5 5
Decisioning 244 229 2 0
Business-to-Business 667 617 4 3
Consumer Services 173 164 1 1
Total ongoing activities 840 781 8 3 2
Exited business activities 4 3
Total UK and Ireland 844 784
EMEA and Asia Pacific
Data 312 298 4 4
Decisioning 138 123 16 14
Total ongoing activities 450 421 7 8 7
Exited business activities 17 35
Total EMEA and Asia Pacific 467 456
Total revenue - ongoing activities 7,056 6,548 8 7 6
Total revenue - exited business activities 41 71
Revenue 7,097 6,619 7 6
1. The results for the year ended 31 March 2023 have been re-presented for
the reclassification to exited business activities of certain B2B businesses,
detail is provided in notes 6(a) and 7 to the financial statements.
See Appendix 1 (page 15) and note 5 to the financial statements for
definitions of non-GAAP measures.
See Appendix 3 (page 16) for analyses of revenue, Benchmark EBIT and Benchmark
EBIT margin from ongoing activities by business segment.
Income statement, earnings and Benchmark EBIT margin analysis
Year ended 31 March 2024 2023¹ Growth %
US$m US$m
Total at actual exchange rates Total at constant exchange rates
Benchmark EBIT by geography
North America 1,531 1,467 4
Latin America 360 292 18
UK and Ireland 181 169 3
EMEA and Asia Pacific 16 13 35
Benchmark EBIT before Central Activities 2,088 1,941 8 6
Central Activities - central corporate costs (144) (143)
Benchmark EBIT from ongoing activities 1,944 1,798 8 7
Exited business activities (16) (4)
Benchmark EBIT 1,928 1,794 7 7
Net interest (139) (124)
Benchmark PBT 1,789 1,670 7 6
Exceptional items 4 (66)
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (193) (192)
Impairment of goodwill - (179)
Acquisition and disposal expenses (41) (46)
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration (4) (45)
Non-benchmark share of post-tax loss of associates (1) (18)
Interest on uncertain tax provisions 20 (1)
Financing fair value remeasurements (23) 51
Profit before tax 1,551 1,174 32
Tax charge (348) (401)
Profit for the financial year 1,203 773 56
Benchmark earnings
Benchmark PBT 1,789 1,670 7 6
Benchmark tax charge (459) (434)
Total Benchmark earnings 1,330 1,236
Owners of Experian plc 1,328 1,235 8 7
Non-controlling interests 2 1
Benchmark EPS USc145.5 USc135.1 8 7
Basic EPS USc131.3 USc84.2 56
Weighted average number of ordinary shares 913 914
Benchmark EBIT margin - ongoing activities
North America 32.9% 33.1%
Latin America 32.5% 31.9%
UK and Ireland 21.5% 21.6%
EMEA and Asia Pacific 3.6% 3.1%
Benchmark EBIT margin 27.6% 27.5%
1. Benchmark results for the year ended 31 March 2023 have been re-presented
for the reclassification to exited business activities of certain B2B
businesses, detail is provided in notes 6(a) and 7 to the financial
statements.
See Appendix 1 (page 15) and note 5 to the financial statements for
definitions of non-GAAP measures.
See Appendix 3 (page 16) for analyses of revenue, Benchmark EBIT and Benchmark
EBIT margin from ongoing activities by business segment.
Group financial review
Key statutory measures
We achieved a strong financial performance in FY24 despite a subdued
macroeconomic environment. Growth was at the top end of our guidance,
improving as the year progressed. Revenue and Benchmark EBIT, for ongoing
activities, both grew 8% at actual exchange rates. Our strategic expansion in
new markets, coupled with continuing investment and a focus on innovation and
productivity, are enabling both revenue and Benchmark EBIT progression despite
weak lending markets.
Revenue for the year strengthened 7% to US$7,097m (2023: US$6,619m).
Acquisitions contributed US$32m (2023: US$37m) to revenue growth and US$2m
(2023: US$3m) to profit before tax. Top-line growth is reflected in an
improved operating profit of US$1,694m (2023: US$1,265m). There was no repeat
of the FY23 charge for goodwill impairment of US$179m or costs associated with
the EMEA and Asia Pacific strategic review and restructuring of US$53m.
The movements in Benchmark EBIT at constant currency are discussed in the
Chief Executive Officer's review and Regional highlights on pages 3 to 13.
Net finance expense increased to US$142m (2023: US$74m), affected by movements
in financing fair value remeasurements of US$74m, higher average borrowing and
an uplift in average market interest rates, though our forward rate-fixing
programme mitigated much of the impact of increased interest rates. Profit
before tax improved to US$1,551m (2023: US$1,174m). The tax charge for the
year reduced to US$348m (2023: US$401m). The effective rate of tax based on
profit before tax was 22.4%, a decrease of 11.8 percentage points from FY23.
This was largely due to the reduction in our provisions for uncertain tax
positions driven by the agreement of open tax issues in North America, as well
as the absence of a non-deductible goodwill impairment charge in FY24.
Cash generated from operations increased to US$2,440m (2023: US$2,358m) due to
improved performance and working capital movements. Tax payments increased to
US$544m (2023: US$525m) and net borrowing inflows were US$102m (2023:
US$192m). Acquisition spend increased by US$153m, balanced by a reduction in
the settlement of put options of US$133m. Cash outflows for net share
purchases were US$100m (2023: US$175m), offsetting deliveries under employee
share plans. Undrawn committed bank borrowing facilities totalled US$2.4bn at
31 March 2024 (2023: US$2.4bn).
Basic EPS increased 56% to 131.3 US cents (2023: 84.2 US cents) reflecting a
higher profit before tax and a reduced effective tax rate.
Net assets at 31 March 2024 increased to US$4,669m (2023: US$3,964m). Capital
employed, as defined in note 5(q) to the financial statements, was US$8,616m
(2023: US$8,102m). Return on capital employed improved for the third
consecutive year, increasing to 17.0% (2023: 16.5%), as our growth investment
monetised.
There was an increase in equity of US$705m from US$3,964m at 31 March 2023
with movements detailed in the Group statement of changes in equity on page
22.
Key movements in equity during the year included:
· Profit for the financial year of US$1,203m.
· Currency translation gains of US$40m.
· A reduction in the fair value of investments revalued through
Other comprehensive income (OCI) of US$87m.
· Employee share awards and options cost of US$132m.
· Ordinary dividends of US$509m and a movement of US$104m in
connection with net share purchases.
Experian plc and the UK subsidiary undertaking responsible for distributing
dividends under the Group's Income Access Share arrangements have substantial
distributable profit and loss account reserves, which at 31 March 2024 were
US$20.6bn (2023: US$19.2bn) and US$6.6bn (2023: US$8.6bn) respectively.
Risks and uncertainties
The eight principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Group are summarised
in note 28 to the financial statements.
Appendices
1. Non-GAAP financial information
We have identified and defined certain measures that we believe assist the
understanding of our performance. These measures are not defined under IFRS
and they may not be directly comparable with other companies' adjusted
performance measures. These non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a
substitute for any IFRS measures of performance, but we consider them to be
key measures used for assessing the underlying performance of our business.
The table below summarises our non-GAAP measures and there is a fuller
explanation, and references to where the measures are used and reconciled, in
note 5 to the financial statements.
Benchmark PBT Profit before amortisation and impairment charges, acquisition expenses,
Exceptional items, financing fair value remeasurements, tax (and interest
thereon) and discontinued operations. It includes the Group's share of
continuing associates' Benchmark post-tax results.
Benchmark EBIT Benchmark PBT before net interest expense.
Benchmark EBITDA Benchmark EBIT before depreciation and amortisation.
Exited business activities The results of businesses sold, closed or identified for closure during a
financial year.
Ongoing activities The results of businesses that are not disclosed as exited business
activities.
Constant exchange rates Results and growth calculated after translating both years' performance at the
prior year's average exchange rates.
Total growth This is the year-on-year change in the performance of Experian's activities at
actual exchange rates.
Organic revenue growth This is the year-on-year change in the revenue of ongoing activities,
translated at constant exchange rates, excluding acquisitions until the first
anniversary of their consolidation.
Benchmark earnings Benchmark PBT less attributable tax and non-controlling interests.
Total Benchmark earnings Benchmark PBT less attributable tax.
Benchmark EPS Benchmark earnings divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares.
Exceptional items Exceptional items include those arising from the profit or loss on disposal of
businesses, closure costs of significant operations (including associated
onerous global support costs), costs of significant restructuring programmes,
and other financially significant one-off items.
Benchmark operating cash flow Benchmark EBIT plus amortisation, depreciation and charges for share-based
incentive plans, less net capital expenditure and adjusted for changes in
working capital, principal lease payments and the Group's share of the
Benchmark profit or loss retained in continuing associates.
Cash flow conversion Benchmark operating cash flow expressed as a percentage of Benchmark EBIT.
Net debt and Net funding Net debt is borrowings (and the fair value of derivatives hedging borrowings)
excluding accrued interest, less cash and cash equivalents. Net funding is
borrowings (and the fair value of the effective portion of derivatives hedging
borrowings) excluding accrued interest, less cash held in Group Treasury.
Return on capital employed (ROCE) Benchmark EBIT less tax at the Benchmark rate divided by average capital
employed, in continuing operations, over the year. Capital employed is net
assets less non-controlling interests and right-of-use assets, plus or minus
the net tax liability or asset and plus Net debt.
2. Foreign currency
Foreign exchange - average rates
The principal exchange rates used to translate revenue and Benchmark EBIT into
the US dollar are shown in the table below.
2024 2023 Movement against the US dollar
US dollar : Brazilian real 4.94 5.16 4%
Pound sterling : US dollar 1.26 1.20 5%
Euro : US dollar 1.08 1.04 4%
US dollar : Colombian peso 4,113 4,469 8%
US dollar : South African rand 18.73 17.00 (10)%
The impact of foreign currency movements on revenue from ongoing activities is
set out in note 6(e) to the financial statements.
Appendices (continued)
2. Foreign currency (continued)
Foreign exchange - closing rates
The principal exchange rates used to translate assets and liabilities into the
US dollar at the year-end dates are shown in the table below.
2024 2023
US dollar : Brazilian real 5.01 5.08
Pound sterling : US dollar 1.26 1.24
Euro : US dollar 1.08 1.09
US dollar : Colombian peso 3,852 4,623
US dollar : South African rand 18.90 17.71
3. Revenue, Benchmark EBIT and Benchmark EBIT margin by business segment
Year ended 31 March Growth %
Total at constant exchange rates Organic at constant exchange rates
2024 2023(1)
US$m US$m
Revenue
Data 3,635 3,401 6 5
Decisioning 1,484 1,365 8 6
Business-to-Business 5,119 4,766 6 5
Consumer Services 1,937 1,782 8 7
Ongoing activities 7,056 6,548 7 6
Exited business activities 41 71 n/a
Total 7,097 6,619 6
Benchmark EBIT
Business-to-Business 1,609 1,525 4
Consumer Services 479 416 15
Business segments 2,088 1,941 6
Central Activities - central corporate costs (144) (143) n/a
Ongoing activities 1,944 1,798 7
Exited business activities (16) (4) n/a
Total Benchmark EBIT 1,928 1,794 7
Net interest expense (139) (124) n/a
Benchmark PBT 1,789 1,670 6
Exceptional items (Appendix 4) 4 (66)
Other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT(2) (242) (430)
Profit before tax 1,551 1,174
Benchmark EBIT margin - ongoing activities
Business-to-Business 31.4% 32.0%
Consumer Services 24.7% 23.3%
Benchmark EBIT margin(3) 27.6% 27.5%
1. Revenue of US$39m and Benchmark EBIT of US$4m for the year ended 31
March 2023 have been re-presented for the reclassification to exited business
activities of certain B2B businesses. See notes 6(a) and 7 to the financial
statements.
2. See note 8 to the financial statements.
3. Benchmark EBIT margin for ongoing activities is calculated by dividing
Benchmark EBIT for ongoing activities by revenue from ongoing activities.
Appendices (continued)
4. Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT
2024 2023
Year ended 31 March US$m US$m
(Credit)/charge for Exceptional items (4) 66
Other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT:
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles 193 192
Impairment of goodwill - 179
Other adjustments 49 59
Charge for other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT 242 430
Net charge for Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive 238 496
Benchmark PBT
An explanation for the exclusion of such items from our definition of
Benchmark PBT is given in note 5(a) to the financial statements.
5. Reconciliation of net investment
2024 2023
Year ended 31 March US$m US$m
Capital expenditure as reported in the Group cash flow statement 640 627
Disposal of property, plant and equipment (1) -
Disposal of assets classified as held-for-sale (2) -
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment 1 -
Net capital expenditure 638 627
Acquisitions 512 480
Purchase of investments 11 15
Disposal of operations and investments (11) (3)
Net investment 1,150 1,119
6. Cash tax reconciliation
2024 2023
Year ended 31 March % %
Tax charge on Benchmark PBT 25.7 26.0
Tax relief on goodwill amortisation (0.7) (2.0)
Timing differences on US innovation and development expenditure 2.3 2.5
Other(1) 3.1 4.9
Tax paid as a percentage of Benchmark PBT 30.4 31.4
1. In FY24 'other' included the phasing of tax payments. In FY23, 'other'
included tax on fair value gains on the remeasurement of derivatives as well
as the phasing of tax payments.
Appendices (continued)
7. Cash flow and Net debt summary(1)
2024 2023
Year ended 31 March US$m US$m
Benchmark EBIT 1,928 1,794
Amortisation and depreciation charged to Benchmark EBIT 521 482
Benchmark EBITDA 2,449 2,276
Impairment of non-current and held-for-sale assets charged to 1 1
Benchmark EBIT
Net capital expenditure (Appendix 5) (638) (627)
(Increase)/decrease in working capital (32) 30
Principal lease payments (48) (57)
Benchmark loss retained in associates - 1
Charge for share incentive plans 132 129
Benchmark operating cash flow(2) 1,864 1,753
Net interest paid (149) (118)
Tax paid (544) (525)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests (1) (1)
Benchmark free cash flow 1,170 1,109
Acquisitions(3) (512) (480)
Purchase of investments (11) (15)
Disposal of operations and investments(4) 11 3
Movement in Exceptional and other non-benchmark items (59) (39)
Ordinary dividends paid (509) (482)
Net cash inflow 90 96
Net debt at 1 April (4,030) (3,950)
Net share purchases (100) (175)
Non-cash lease obligation additions and disposals (50) (29)
Principal lease payments 48 57
Additions through business combinations (7) -
Foreign exchange and other movements (4) (29)
Net debt at 31 March (4,053) (4,030)
1. For Group cash flow statement see page 23.
2. A reconciliation of Cash generated from operations to Benchmark
operating cash flow is provided in note 16(g) to the financial statements.
3. See note 16(d) to the financial statements.
4. Includes the disposal of operations classified as held-for-sale.
Group income statement
for the year ended 31 March 2024
2024 2023
Benchmark(1) Non-benchmark(2) Benchmark(1) Non-benchmark(2)
Total Total
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue (note 6(a)) 7,097 - 7,097 6,619 - 6,619
Labour costs (2,479) (14) (2,493) (2,341) (40) (2,381)
Data and information technology costs (1,189) - (1,189) (1,070) - (1,070)
Amortisation and depreciation charges (521) (193) (714) (482) (192) (674)
Marketing and customer acquisition costs (539) - (539) (570) - (570)
Other operating charges (441) (27) (468) (363) (296) (659)
Total operating expenses (5,169) (234) (5,403) (4,826) (528) (5,354)
Operating profit/(loss) 1,928 (234) 1,694 1,793 (528) 1,265
Finance income 18 - 18 13 50 63
Finance expense (157) (3) (160) (137) - (137)
Net finance (expense)/income (note 9(a)) (139) (3) (142) (124) 50 (74)
Share of post-tax (loss)/profit of associates - (1) (1) 1 (18) (17)
Profit/(loss) before tax (note 6(a)) 1,789 (238) 1,551 1,670 (496) 1,174
Tax (charge)/credit (note 10(a)) (459) 111 (348) (434) 33 (401)
Profit/(loss) for the financial year 1,330 (127) 1,203 1,236 (463) 773
Attributable to:
Owners of Experian plc 1,328 (129) 1,199 1,235 (465) 770
Non-controlling interests 2 2 4 1 2 3
Profit/(loss) for the financial year 1,330 (127) 1,203 1,236 (463) 773
Total Benchmark EBIT(1) 1,928 1,794
US cents US cents US cents US cents
Earnings per share (note 11(a))
Basic 145.5 131.3 135.1 84.2
Diluted 144.2 130.2 134.1 83.6
Full-year dividend per share (note12(a))(1) 58.50 54.75
1. Total Benchmark EBIT and Full-year dividend per share are
non-GAAP measures, defined in note 5 to the financial statements.
2. The loss before tax for non-benchmark items of US$238m (2023:
US$496m) comprises a net credit for Exceptional items of US$4m (2023: charge
of US$66m) and net charges for other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT
of US$242m (2023: US$430m). Further information is given in note 8 to the
financial statements.
Group statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 March 2024
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Profit for the financial year 1,203 773
Other comprehensive income/(expense)
Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss:
Remeasurement of post-employment benefit assets and obligations (note 15(b)) 2 (23)
Changes in the fair value of investments revalued through OCI (87) (58)
Deferred tax credit 7 5
Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss (78) (76)
Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Currency translation gains/(losses) 40 (203)
Fair value gain/(loss) on cash flow hedge 14 (38)
Hedging (gain)/loss reclassified to profit or loss (10) 30
Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss 44 (211)
Other comprehensive expense for the financial year(1) (34) (287)
Total comprehensive income for the financial year 1,169 486
Attributable to:
Owners of Experian plc 1,167 489
Non-controlling interests 2 (3)
Total comprehensive income for the financial year 1,169 486
1. There is no associated tax on amounts reported within Other
comprehensive income (OCI), except as reported for post-employment benefit
assets and obligations and changes in the fair value of investments revalued
through OCI. Currency translation items, not reclassified to profit or loss,
are recognised in the hedging or translation reserve within other reserves and
in non-controlling interests. Other items within OCI are recognised in
retained earnings.
Group balance sheet
at 31 March 2024
2024 2023
Notes US$m US$m
Non-current assets
Goodwill 13 5,962 5,575
Other intangible assets 14 2,437 2,289
Property, plant and equipment 14 379 382
Investments in associates 11 12
Deferred tax assets 55 37
Post-employment benefit assets 15(a) 186 174
Trade and other receivables 196 140
Financial assets revalued through OCI 23(b) 234 313
Other financial assets 174 148
9,634 9,070
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 1,660 1,519
Current tax assets 97 50
Other financial assets 9 7
Cash and cash equivalents - excluding bank overdrafts 16(f) 312 202
2,078 1,778
Assets classified as held-for-sale - 16
2,078 1,794
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (2,036) (1,955)
Borrowings 17(b) (772) (156)
Current tax liabilities (83) (135)
Provisions (28) (56)
Other financial liabilities (44) (6)
(2,963) (2,308)
Liabilities classified as held-for-sale - (3)
(2,963) (2,311)
Net current liabilities (885) (517)
Total assets less current liabilities 8,749 8,553
Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables (190) (186)
Borrowings 17(b) (3,494) (3,943)
Deferred tax liabilities (129) (223)
Post-employment benefit obligations 15(a) (39) (39)
Provisions (3) (3)
Financial liabilities revalued through OCI (10) (24)
Other financial liabilities (215) (171)
(4,080) (4,589)
Net assets 4,669 3,964
Equity
Called-up share capital 19 97 96
Share premium account 19 1,819 1,799
Retained earnings 21,155 20,447
Other reserves (18,437) (18,413)
Attributable to owners of Experian plc 4,634 3,929
Non-controlling interests 35 35
Total equity 4,669 3,964
Group statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 March 2024
Called-up share capital Share premium account Retained earnings Other reserves Attributable to owners of Experian plc Non-controlling interests Total equity
(Note 19) (Note 19)
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
At 1 April 2023 96 1,799 20,447 (18,413) 3,929 35 3,964
Comprehensive income:
Profit for the financial year - - 1,199 - 1,199 4 1,203
Other comprehensive (expense)/income for the - - (78) 46 (32) (2) (34)
financial year
Total comprehensive income - - 1,121 46 1,167 2 1,169
Transactions with owners:
Employee share incentive plans:
- value of employee services - - 132 - 132 - 132
- shares issued on vesting 1 20 - - 21 - 21
- purchase of shares by employee trusts - - - (56) (56) - (56)
- other vesting of awards and exercises of share options - - (43) 55 12 - 12
- related tax credit - - 10 - 10 - 10
- other payments - - (4) - (4) - (4)
Purchase of shares held as treasury shares - - - (69) (69) - (69)
Transactions with non-controlling interests - - 1 - 1 (1) -
Dividends paid - - (509) - (509) (1) (510)
Transactions with owners 1 20 (413) (70) (462) (2) (464)
At 31 March 2024 97 1,819 21,155 (18,437) 4,634 35 4,669
Called-up share capital Share premium account Retained earnings Other reserves Attributable to owners of Experian plc Non-controlling interests Total equity
(Note 19) (Note 19)
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
At 1 April 2022 96 1,780 20,157 (18,064) 3,969 38 4,007
Comprehensive income:
Profit for the financial year - - 770 - 770 3 773
Other comprehensive expense for the financial year - - (76) (205) (281) (6) (287)
Total comprehensive income/(expense) - - 694 (205) 489 (3) 486
Transactions with owners:
Employee share incentive plans:
- value of employee services - - 129 - 129 - 129
- shares issued on vesting - 19 - - 19 - 19
- purchase of shares by employee trusts - - - (45) (45) - (45)
- other vesting of awards and exercises of share options - - (36) 50 14 - 14
- related tax charge - - (9) - (9) - (9)
- other payments - - (5) - (5) - (5)
Purchase of shares held as treasury shares - - - (149) (149) - (149)
Transactions with non-controlling interests - - (1) - (1) 1 -
Dividends paid - - (482) - (482) (1) (483)
Transactions with owners - 19 (404) (144) (529) - (529)
At 31 March 2023 96 1,799 20,447 (18,413) 3,929 35 3,964
Group cash flow statement
for the year ended 31 March 2024
2024 2023
Notes US$m US$m
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations 16(a) 2,440 2,358
Interest paid (160) (126)
Interest received 11 8
Dividends received from associates - 2
Tax paid (544) (525)
Net cash inflow from operating activities 1,747 1,717
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of other intangible assets 16(c) (600) (563)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (40) (64)
Disposal of property, plant and equipment 1 -
Disposal of assets classified as held-for-sale 2 -
Purchase of other financial assets (11) (15)
Disposal of other financial assets 5 3
Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired 16(d) (462) (309)
Disposal of operations 6 (1)
Disposal of investment in associate 8(c) - 1
Net cash flows used in investing activities (1,099) (948)
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash inflow in respect of shares issued 16(e) 20 19
Cash outflow in respect of share purchases 16(e) (120) (194)
Other payments on vesting of share awards (4) (5)
Settlement of put options held over shares in subsidiaries 16(d) - (133)
New borrowings(1) - 84
Repayment of borrowings (7) (1)
Movements in short-term commercial paper(1) 109 109
Principal lease payments (48) (57)
Net receipts/(payments) for derivative contracts 9 (61)
Dividends paid (510) (483)
Net cash flows used in financing activities (551) (722)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 97 47
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 198 176
Exchange movements on cash and cash equivalents 5 (25)
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 16(f) 300 198
1. Movements in commercial paper have been analysed separately on the face
of the cash flow statement to reflect their short-term maturity. The total of
new borrowings for the year ended 31 March 2023 has been re-presented
accordingly.
Notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2024
1. Corporate information
Experian plc (the Company) is the ultimate parent company of the Experian
group of companies (Experian or the Group). Experian is the leading global
information services group. The Company is incorporated and registered in
Jersey as a public company limited by shares and is resident in Ireland. The
Company's registered office is at 22 Grenville Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE4
8PX, Channel Islands. The Company's ordinary shares are traded on the London
Stock Exchange's Regulated Market and have a Premium Listing.
There has been no change in this information since the Annual Report for the
year ended 31 March 2023.
2. Basis of preparation
The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not
constitute the Group's statutory financial statements, which comprise the
Annual Report and audited financial statements for the years ended 31 March
2024 and 31 March 2023, but is derived from the statutory financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2024. The Group's statutory financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2024 will be made available to shareholders in
June 2024 and delivered to the Jersey Registrar of Companies in due course.
The auditor has reported on those financial statements and has given an
unqualified report which does not contain a statement under Article 113B(3) or
Article 113B(6) of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991. The Group's statutory
financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 have been delivered to
the Jersey Registrar of Companies. The auditor reported on those financial
statements and gave an unqualified report which did not contain a statement
under Article 113B(3) or Article 113B(6) of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991.
The Group's statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024
have been:
· prepared in accordance with the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 and
IFRS Accounting Standards as adopted pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 1606/2002
as it applies in the European Union (EU-IFRS), UK-adopted international
accounting standards (UK-IFRS) and IFRS as issued by the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB-IFRS). EU-IFRS, UK-IFRS, and IASB-IFRS all
differ in certain respects from each other, however the differences have no
material impact for the periods presented
· prepared on the going concern basis and under the historical cost
convention, as modified for the revaluation of certain financial assets and
financial liabilities
· presented in US dollars, the most representative currency of the
Group's operations, and generally rounded to the nearest million
· prepared using the principal exchange rates set out on pages 15
and 16
· designed to voluntarily include disclosures in line with those
parts of the UK Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under
that law.
Other than those disclosed in this preliminary announcement, no significant
events impacting the Group have occurred between 31 March 2024 and 14 May 2024
when this preliminary announcement was approved for issue.
This preliminary announcement has been prepared in accordance with the Listing
Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority, using the accounting policies
applied in the preparation of the Group's statutory financial statements for
the year ended 31 March 2024. Those policies were published in full in the
Group's statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 and
are available on the corporate website, at experianplc.com
(http://www.experianplc.com) .
Going concern
Our going concern assessment focuses on immediately available sources of
liquidity to fund our anticipated trading pattern, plus anticipated
acquisition spend, returns to shareholders and capital investment, ensuring we
always maintain a comfortable margin of headroom in case of the unexpected. We
also perform a review of indicators typical of emerging going concern issues,
and have identified none.
The directors believe that the Group and the Company are well placed to manage
their financing and other business risks satisfactorily, and have a reasonable
expectation that the Group and the Company will have adequate resources to
continue their operational existence for at least 12 months from the date of
signing these financial statements. The directors therefore consider it
appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the
financial statements. In reaching this conclusion, the directors noted the
Group's strong cash performance in the year, and its resilience in the face of
a viability reverse stress-test scenario.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
3. Climate-related matters
As an information services business, our main environmental impact is the
carbon footprint generated from our operations and value chain. The majority
of our footprint is made up of greenhouse gas emissions from Purchased Goods
and Services and Upstream Leased Assets, including third-party data centres,
with emissions from our direct operations making up approximately 3% of total
emissions.
We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and to becoming carbon
neutral in our own operations by 2030. We continue to develop our plans to
decarbonise our business further and reduce energy consumption at our data
centres and across the Group. We have reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by
75% since 2019.
We recognise the importance of identifying and effectively managing the
physical and transitional risks that climate change poses to our operations
and consider the impact of climate-related matters, including legislation, on
our business. The climate change scenario analyses undertaken this year in
line with Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
recommendations did not identify any material impact on the Group's financial
results or on going concern or viability.
4. Recent accounting developments
There have been no accounting standards, amendments or interpretations
effective for the first time in these financial statements which have had a
material impact on the Group's consolidated results or financial position.
In February 2021, the IASB issued amendments to IAS 1 'Presentation of
Financial Statements' which were applicable for Experian from 1 April 2023.
The amendments require disclosure of material accounting policies rather than
significant accounting policies. During the year the Group reviewed its
accounting policy disclosures to align with the amended requirements.
On 23 May 2023, the IASB published final amendments to IAS 12 'Income Taxes'
to provide a temporary mandatory relief from deferred tax accounting arising
from the jurisdictional implementation of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development's (OECD's) Pillar Two model rules. The Group
applied the exception with immediate effect.
On 9 April 2024 the IASB issued IFRS 18 'Presentation and Disclosure in
Financial Statements', which is expected to be effective for Experian for the
year ending 31 March 2028, subject to UK and EU endorsement. IFRS 18 sets out
requirements for the presentation and disclosure of information in general
purpose financial statements and replaces IAS 1 'Presentation of Financial
Statements'.
Our assessment of the impact of IFRS 18 on the Group financial statements has
commenced; areas of potential change have been noted and are undergoing
further review.
There are no other new standards, amendments to existing standards, or
interpretations that are not yet effective, that are expected to have a
material impact on the Group's financial results. Accounting developments are
routinely reviewed by the Group and its financial reporting systems are
adapted as appropriate.
5. Use of non-GAAP measures in the financial statements
As detailed below, the Group has identified and defined certain measures that
it uses to understand and manage its performance. The measures are not defined
under IFRS and they may not be directly comparable with other companies'
adjusted performance measures. These non-GAAP measures are not intended to be
a substitute for any IFRS measures of performance but management considers
them to be key measures used for assessing the underlying performance of our
business.
(a) Benchmark profit before tax (Benchmark PBT) (note 6(a))
Benchmark PBT is disclosed to indicate the Group's underlying profitability.
It is defined as profit before amortisation and impairment of acquisition
intangibles, impairment of goodwill, acquisition expenses, adjustments to
contingent consideration, Exceptional items, financing fair value
remeasurements, tax (and interest thereon) and discontinued operations. It
includes the Group's share of continuing associates' Benchmark post-tax
results.
An explanation of the basis on which we report Exceptional items is provided
in note 5(l). Other adjustments, in addition to Exceptional items, made to
derive Benchmark PBT are explained as follows:
· Charges for the amortisation and impairment of acquisition
intangibles are excluded from the calculation of Benchmark PBT because these
charges are based on judgments about their value and economic life and bear no
relation to the Group's underlying ongoing performance. Impairment of goodwill
is similarly excluded from the calculation of Benchmark PBT.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
5. Use of non-GAAP measures in the financial statements (continued)
(a) Benchmark profit before tax (Benchmark PBT) (note 6(a)) (continued)
· Acquisition and disposal expenses (representing the incidental
costs of acquisitions and disposals, one-time integration costs and other
corporate transaction expenses) relating to successful, active or aborted
acquisitions and disposals are excluded from the definition of Benchmark PBT
as they bear no relation to the Group's underlying ongoing performance or to
the performance of any acquired businesses. Adjustments to contingent
consideration are similarly excluded from the definition of Benchmark PBT.
· Charges and credits for financing fair value remeasurements
within finance expense in the Group income statement are excluded from the
definition of Benchmark PBT. These include retranslation of intra-Group
funding, and that element of the Group's derivatives that is ineligible for
hedge accounting, together with gains and losses on put options in respect of
acquisitions. Amounts recognised generally arise from market movements and
accordingly bear no direct relation to the Group's underlying performance.
(b) Benchmark earnings before interest and tax (Benchmark EBIT) and margin (Benchmark EBIT margin)
(note 6(a))
Benchmark EBIT is defined as Benchmark PBT before the net interest expense
charged therein and accordingly excludes Exceptional items as defined below.
Benchmark EBIT margin is Benchmark EBIT from ongoing activities expressed as a
percentage of revenue from ongoing activities.
(c) Benchmark earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Benchmark EBITDA)
Benchmark EBITDA is defined as Benchmark EBIT before the depreciation and
amortisation charged therein.
(d) Exited business activities
Exited business activities are businesses sold, closed or identified for closure during a financial year. These are treated as exited business activities for both revenue and Benchmark EBIT purposes. The results of exited business activities are disclosed separately with the results of the prior period re-presented in the segmental analyses as appropriate. This measure differs from the definition of discontinued operations in IFRS 5 'Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations'.
(e) Ongoing activities
The results of businesses trading at 31 March 2024, that are not disclosed as exited business activities, are reported as ongoing activities.
(f) Constant exchange rates
To highlight our organic performance, we discuss our results in terms of
growth at constant exchange rates, unless otherwise stated. This represents
growth calculated after translating both years' performance at the prior
year's average exchange rates.
(g) Total growth (note 6(e))
This is the year-on-year change in the performance of our activities at actual
exchange rates. Total growth at constant exchange rates removes the
translational foreign exchange effects arising on the consolidation of our
activities and comprises one of our measures of performance at constant
exchange rates.
(h) Organic revenue growth (note 6(e))
This is the year-on-year change in the revenue of ongoing activities,
translated at constant exchange rates, excluding acquisitions until the first
anniversary of their consolidation.
(i) Benchmark earnings and Total Benchmark earnings (note 11)
Benchmark earnings comprises Benchmark PBT less attributable tax and
non-controlling interests. The attributable tax for this purpose excludes
significant tax credits and charges arising in the year which, in view of
their size or nature, are not comparable with previous years, together with
tax arising on Exceptional items and on other adjustments made to derive
Benchmark PBT. Benchmark PBT less attributable tax is designated as Total
Benchmark earnings.
(j) Benchmark earnings per share (Benchmark EPS) (note 11(a))
Benchmark EPS comprises Benchmark earnings divided by the weighted average
number of issued ordinary shares, as adjusted for own shares held.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
5. Use of non-GAAP measures in the financial statements (continued)
(k) Benchmark tax charge and rate (note 10(b))
The Benchmark tax charge is the tax charge applicable to Benchmark PBT. It
differs from the tax charge by tax attributable to Exceptional items and other
adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT, and exceptional tax charges. A
reconciliation is provided in note 10(b) to these financial statements. The
Benchmark effective rate of tax is calculated by dividing the Benchmark tax
charge by Benchmark PBT.
(l) Exceptional items (note 8(a))
The separate reporting of Exceptional items gives an indication of the Group's
underlying performance. Exceptional items include those arising from the
profit or loss on disposal of businesses, closure costs of significant
operations (including onerous global support costs associated with those
operations), costs of significant restructuring programmes and other
financially significant one-off items. All other restructuring costs are
charged against Benchmark EBIT, in the segments in which they are incurred.
(m) Full-year dividend per share (note 12(a))
Full-year dividend per share comprises the total of dividends per share
announced in respect of the financial year.
(n) Benchmark operating and Benchmark free cash flow
Benchmark operating cash flow is Benchmark EBIT plus amortisation, depreciation and charges in respect of share-based incentive plans, less capital expenditure net of disposal proceeds and adjusted for changes in working capital, principal lease payments and the Group's share of the Benchmark profit or loss retained in continuing associates. Benchmark free cash flow is derived from Benchmark operating cash flow by excluding net interest, tax paid in respect of continuing operations and dividends paid to non-controlling interests.
(o) Cash flow conversion
Cash flow conversion is Benchmark operating cash flow expressed as a
percentage of Benchmark EBIT.
(p) Net debt and Net funding (note 17)
Net debt is borrowings (and the fair value of derivatives hedging borrowings)
excluding accrued interest, less cash and cash equivalents and other highly
liquid bank deposits with original maturities greater than three months. Net
funding is borrowings (and the fair value of the effective portion of
derivatives hedging borrowings) excluding accrued interest, less cash held in
Group Treasury.
(q) Return on capital employed (ROCE)
ROCE is defined as Benchmark EBIT less tax at the Benchmark rate divided by a
three-point average of capital employed, in continuing operations, over the
year. Capital employed is net assets less non-controlling interests and
right-of-use assets, further adjusted to add or deduct the net tax liability
or asset and to add Net debt.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
6. Segment information
(a) Income statement
North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total operating segments Central Total
America America Asia Pacific(1) Activities Group
Year ended 31 March 2024 US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue from external customers
Ongoing activities 4,659 1,107 840 450 7,056 - 7,056
Exited business activities - 20 4 17 41 - 41
Total 4,659 1,127 844 467 7,097 - 7,097
Reconciliation from Benchmark EBIT to profit/(loss) before tax
Benchmark EBIT
Ongoing activities before transfer pricing and other adjustments 1,551 360 173 3 2,087 (143) 1,944
Transfer pricing and other allocation adjustments (20) - 8 13 1 (1) -
Ongoing activities 1,531 360 181 16 2,088 (144) 1,944
Exited business activities - (6) 1 (11) (16) - (16)
Total 1,531 354 182 5 2,072 (144) 1,928
Net interest expense included in Benchmark PBT (3) (2) (2) (1) (8) (131) (139)
(note 9(b))
Benchmark PBT 1,528 352 180 4 2,064 (275) 1,789
Exceptional items (note 8(a)) (1) - - 5 4 - 4
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (112) (21) (7) (53) (193) - (193)
Acquisition and disposal expenses (1) (17) (7) (16) (41) - (41)
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration 10 (15) - - (5) 1 (4)
Non-benchmark share of post-tax loss of associates - - (1) - (1) - (1)
Interest on uncertain tax provisions - - - - - 20 20
Financing fair value remeasurements - - - - - (23) (23)
Profit/(loss) before tax 1,424 299 165 (60) 1,828 (277) 1,551
North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total operating segments Central Total Group
America America Asia Pacific(1) Activities
Year ended 31 March 2023(2) US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue from external customers
Ongoing activities 4,432 914 781 421 6,548 - 6,548
Exited business activities - 33 3 35 71 - 71
Total 4,432 947 784 456 6,619 - 6,619
Reconciliation from Benchmark EBIT to profit/(loss) before tax
Benchmark EBIT
Ongoing activities before transfer pricing and other adjustments 1,497 292 157 (7) 1,939 (141) 1,798
Transfer pricing and other allocation adjustments (30) - 12 20 2 (2) -
Ongoing activities 1,467 292 169 13 1,941 (143) 1,798
Exited business activities - 2 1 (7) (4) - (4)
Total 1,467 294 170 6 1,937 (143) 1,794
Net interest expense included in Benchmark PBT (4) (1) (1) (1) (7) (117) (124)
(note 9(b))
Benchmark PBT 1,463 293 169 5 1,930 (260) 1,670
Exceptional items (note 8(a)) 4 - - (70) (66) - (66)
Impairment of goodwill (note 13) - - - (179) (179) - (179)
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (124) (21) (8) (39) (192) - (192)
Acquisition and disposal expenses (18) (4) (7) (17) (46) - (46)
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration (48) (5) 8 - (45) - (45)
Non-benchmark share of post-tax loss of associates - - (18) - (18) - (18)
Interest on uncertain tax provisions - - - - - (1) (1)
Financing fair value remeasurements - - - - - 51 51
Profit/(loss) before tax 1,277 263 144 (300) 1,384 (210) 1,174
1. As a result of a strategic review and restructuring our Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific regions were formally combined into a
single operating segment with effect from 1 April 2023. Amounts for the year
ended 31 March 2023 presented for the combined EMEA/Asia Pacific regions have
been re-captioned EMEA and Asia Pacific, with no impact on results or
balances.
2. Revenue of US$39m and Benchmark EBIT of US$4m for the year ended 31
March 2023 have been re-presented for the reclassification to exited business
activities of certain B2B businesses.
Additional information by operating segment, including that on total and
organic growth at constant exchange rates, is provided within pages 3 to 13.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
6. Segment information (continued)
(b) Revenue by country
2024 2023
US$m US$m
USA 4,658 4,429
Brazil 991 839
UK 839 780
Other 609 571
7,097 6,619
Revenue is primarily attributable to countries other than Ireland. No single
client accounted for 10% or more of revenue in the current or prior year.
Revenue from the USA, Brazil and the UK in aggregate comprises 91% (2023: 91%)
of Group revenue. Other comprises a number of other countries, none of which
has revenue that is individually material.
(c) Disaggregation of revenue from contracts with customers
North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total operating segments
America America Asia Pacific
Year ended 31 March 2024 US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue from external customers
Data 2,231 669 423 312 3,635
Decisioning 889 213 244 138 1,484
Business-to-Business 3,120 882 667 450 5,119
Consumer Services 1,539 225 173 - 1,937
Ongoing activities 4,659 1,107 840 450 7,056
Exited business activities - 20 4 17 41
Total 4,659 1,127 844 467 7,097
North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total operating segments
America America Asia Pacific
Year ended 31 March 2023(1) US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue from external customers
Data 2,142 573 388 298 3,401
Decisioning 837 176 229 123 1,365
Business-to-Business 2,979 749 617 421 4,766
Consumer Services 1,453 165 164 - 1,782
Ongoing activities 4,432 914 781 421 6,548
Exited business activities - 33 3 35 71
Total 4,432 947 784 456 6,619
1. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2023 of US$39m has been
re-presented for the reclassification to exited business activities of certain
B2B businesses.
Revenue in respect of exited business activities comprised Latin America Data
revenue of US$20m (2023: US$33m), UK and Ireland Data revenue of US$4m (2023:
US$3m), and EMEA and Asia Pacific Data and Decisioning revenue of US$1m (2023:
US$10m) and US$16m (2023: US$25m) respectively.
Data is predominantly transactional revenue with a portion from licence fees.
Decisioning revenue is derived from:
· software and system sales, and includes recurring licence fees,
consultancy and implementation fees, and transactional charges
· credit score fees which are primarily transactional
· analytics income comprising a mix of consultancy and professional
fees as well as transactional revenue.
Consumer Services revenue primarily comprises monthly subscription and one-off
fees, and referral fees for financial products and white-label partnerships.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
6. Segment information (continued)
(d) Revenue by business segment
The additional analysis of revenue from external customers provided to the
chief operating decision-maker and accordingly reportable under IFRS 8
'Operating Segments' is given within note 7. This is supplemented by voluntary
disclosure of the profitability of groups of service lines. For ease of
reference, we continue to use the term 'business segments' when discussing the
results of groups of service lines.
(e) Reconciliation of revenue from ongoing activities
North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total ongoing activities
America America Asia Pacific
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2023(1) 4,432 914 781 421 6,548
Adjustment to constant exchange rates - (1) 1 1 1
Revenue at constant exchange rates for the year ended 31 March 2023 4,432 913 782 422 6,549
Organic revenue growth 221 116 19 31 387
Revenue from acquisitions 6 28 4 2 40
Revenue at constant exchange rates for the year ended 31 March 2024 4,659 1,057 805 455 6,976
Adjustment to actual exchange rates - 50 35 (5) 80
Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2024 4,659 1,107 840 450 7,056
Organic revenue growth at constant exchange rates 5% 13% 2% 7% 6%
Revenue growth at constant exchange rates 5% 16% 3% 8% 7%
1. Revenue of US$39m for the year ended 31 March 2023 has been
re-presented for the reclassification to exited business activities of certain
B2B businesses.
The table above demonstrates the application of the methodology set out in
note 5 in determining organic and total revenue growth at constant exchange
rates. Revenue at constant exchange rates is reported for both years using the
average exchange rates applicable for the year ended 31 March 2023.
(f) Balance sheet
(i) Net assets/(liabilities) North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total operating segments Central Total
America America Asia Pacific Activities and other Group
At 31 March 2024 US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Goodwill 3,841 901 742 478 5,962 - 5,962
Investments in associates 4 - 7 - 11 - 11
Right-of-use assets 56 14 37 18 125 6 131
Other assets 2,578 898 565 441 4,482 1,126 5,608
Total assets 6,479 1,813 1,351 937 10,580 1,132 11,712
Lease obligations (71) (17) (39) (19) (146) (5) (151)
Other liabilities (1,301) (478) (298) (207) (2,284) (4,608) (6,892)
Total liabilities (1,372) (495) (337) (226) (2,430) (4,613) (7,043)
Net assets/(liabilities) 5,107 1,318 1,014 711 8,150 (3,481) 4,669
North Latin UK and Ireland EMEA and Total operating segments Central Total
America America Asia Pacific Activities and other Group
At 31 March 2023 US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Goodwill 3,662 724 700 489 5,575 - 5,575
Investments in associates 3 - 9 - 12 - 12
Right-of-use assets 72 16 14 20 122 6 128
Assets classified as held-for-sale - - - 4 4 12 16
Other assets 2,406 686 530 505 4,127 1,006 5,133
Total assets 6,143 1,426 1,253 1,018 9,840 1,024 10,864
Lease obligations (89) (19) (14) (21) (143) (5) (148)
Liabilities classified as held-for-sale - - - (3) (3) - (3)
Other liabilities (1,307) (327) (304) (189) (2,127) (4,622) (6,749)
Total liabilities (1,396) (346) (318) (213) (2,273) (4,627) (6,900)
Net assets/(liabilities) 4,747 1,080 935 805 7,567 (3,603) 3,964
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
6. Segment information (continued)
(f) Balance sheet (continued)
(ii) Central Activities and other comprises:
2024 2023
Assets Liabilities Net assets/ Assets Liabilities Net assets/
(liabilities) (liabilities)
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Central Activities 666 (179) 487 731 (175) 556
Net debt(1) 314 (4,222) (3,908) 206 (4,094) (3,888)
Tax 152 (212) (60) 87 (358) (271)
1,132 (4,613) (3,481) 1,024 (4,627) (3,603)
1. Net debt comprises amounts reported within Central Activities plus
lease obligations in operating segments, net of interest of US$145m (2023:
US$142m).
(iii) Capital employed
2024 2023
US$m US$m
North America 5,107 4,747
Latin America 1,318 1,080
UK and Ireland 1,014 935
EMEA and Asia Pacific 711 805
Total operating segments 8,150 7,567
Central Activities 487 556
Add: lease obligations in operating segments 146 143
Less: accrued interest on lease obligations in operating segments (1) (1)
Less: right-of-use assets (131) (128)
Less: non-controlling interests (35) (35)
Capital employed attributable to owners 8,616 8,102
The three-point average capital employed figure of US$8,406m (2023:
US$8,060m), used in our calculation of ROCE, is determined by calculating the
arithmetic average of capital employed at 31 March 2024, 30 September 2023 and
31 March 2023.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
7. Information on business segments (including non-GAAP disclosures)
Business-to-Business Consumer Services Total business segments Central Total
Activities Group
Year ended 31 March 2024 US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue from external customers
Ongoing activities 5,119 1,937 7,056 - 7,056
Exited business activities 41 - 41 - 41
Total 5,160 1,937 7,097 - 7,097
Reconciliation from Benchmark EBIT to profit/(loss) before tax
Benchmark EBIT
Ongoing activities before transfer pricing and other adjustments 1,601 486 2,087 (143) 1,944
Transfer pricing and other allocation adjustments 8 (7) 1 (1) -
Ongoing activities 1,609 479 2,088 (144) 1,944
Exited business activities (16) - (16) - (16)
Total 1,593 479 2,072 (144) 1,928
Net interest expense included in Benchmark PBT (note 9(b)) (6) (2) (8) (131) (139)
Benchmark PBT 1,587 477 2,064 (275) 1,789
Exceptional items (note 8(a)) 4 - 4 - 4
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (163) (30) (193) - (193)
Acquisition and disposal expenses (29) (12) (41) - (41)
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration - (5) (5) 1 (4)
Non-benchmark share of post-tax loss of associates - (1) (1) - (1)
Interest on uncertain tax provisions - - - 20 20
Financing fair value remeasurements - - - (23) (23)
Profit/(loss) before tax 1,399 429 1,828 (277) 1,551
Business-to-Business Consumer Services Total business segments Central Total
Activities Group
Year ended 31 March 2023(1) US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Revenue from external customers
Ongoing activities 4,766 1,782 6,548 - 6,548
Exited business activities 71 - 71 - 71
Total 4,837 1,782 6,619 - 6,619
Reconciliation from Benchmark EBIT to profit/(loss) before tax
Benchmark EBIT
Ongoing activities before transfer pricing and other adjustments 1,513 426 1,939 (141) 1,798
Transfer pricing and other allocation adjustments 12 (10) 2 (2) -
Ongoing activities 1,525 416 1,941 (143) 1,798
Exited business activities (4) - (4) - (4)
Total 1,521 416 1,937 (143) 1,794
Net interest expense included in Benchmark PBT (note 9(b)) (5) (2) (7) (117) (124)
Benchmark PBT 1,516 414 1,930 (260) 1,670
Exceptional items (note 8(a)) (66) - (66) - (66)
Impairment of goodwill (note 13) (179) - (179) - (179)
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (159) (33) (192) - (192)
Acquisition and disposal expenses (23) (23) (46) - (46)
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration (45) - (45) - (45)
Non-benchmark share of post-tax loss of associates - (18) (18) - (18)
Interest on uncertain tax provisions - - - (1) (1)
Financing fair value remeasurements - - - 51 51
Profit/(loss) before tax 1,044 340 1,384 (210) 1,174
1. Revenue of US$39m and Benchmark EBIT of US$4m for the year ended 31
March 2023 have been re-presented for the reclassification to exited business
activities of certain B2B businesses.
Additional information by business segment, including that on total and
organic growth at constant exchange rates, is provided within pages 3 to 13
and within Appendix 3 on page 16.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
8. Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT
(a) Net charge for Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT
2024 2023
Notes US$m US$m
Exceptional items:
Net (profit)/loss on disposal of operations(1) 8(b), 22 (5) 1
Profit on disposal of associate(1) 8(c) - (1)
Restructuring costs 8(d) - 53
Onerous global support costs(1) 8(e) - 16
Legal provisions movements(1) 8(f) 1 (3)
Net (credit)/charge for Exceptional items (4) 66
Other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT:
Amortisation of acquisition intangibles 193 192
Impairment of goodwill(1) 13 - 179
Acquisition and disposal expenses(2) 41 46
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration(1) 23(c) 4 45
Non-benchmark share of post-tax loss of associates 1 18
Interest on uncertain tax provisions 9(c) (20) 1
Financing fair value remeasurements 9(c) 23 (51)
Net charge for other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT 242 430
Net charge for Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive 238 496
Benchmark PBT
By income statement caption:
Labour costs 14 40
Amortisation and depreciation charges 193 192
Other operating charges 27 296
Within operating profit 234 528
Within share of post-tax loss of associates 1 18
Within finance income 3 (50)
Net charge for Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive 238 496
Benchmark PBT
1. Included in other operating charges.
2. Acquisition and disposal expenses represent professional fees and
expenses associated with completed, ongoing and terminated acquisition and
disposal processes, as well as the integration and separation costs associated
with completed deals. Of the total, US$14m (2023: US$7m) is recorded within
labour costs in the Group income statement, and US$27m (2023: US$39m) is
included within other operating charges.
(b) Net (profit)/loss on disposal of operations
The net (profit)/loss on disposal of operations includes a gain on the
disposal of interests in a number of small subsidiary undertakings in EMEA and
Asia Pacific of US$5m (2023: loss of US$1m).
(c) Profit on disposal of associate
On 18 November 2020, the Group disposed of its 18.6% interest in Finicity
Corporation. During the year ended 31 March 2023 further consideration of
US$1m was received in respect of earnout arrangements, the payout of which was
not anticipated at 31 March 2021.
(d) Restructuring costs
Costs of US$53m were recognised in the year ended 31 March 2023 associated
with a strategic review and restructuring, primarily in the EMEA and Asia
Pacific regions. The charge included a loss on disposal and asset write-downs
and impairments of US$23m, and US$21m was labour related. The associated cash
outflow was US$20m in that year.
As we execute on the final stages of our technology transformation and cloud
migration, we will realign our staff resources to our new technology
architecture and accelerate the shift to our global development centres to
drive productivity. We expect to incur an exceptional charge of
c.US$30m-US$50m in relation to this programme in FY25, predominantly in
one-off staff exit costs.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
8. Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT
(continued)
(e) Onerous global support costs
The charge incurred in the year ended 31 March 2023 comprised costs that were
directly attributable to exited businesses or incurred solely to support
sub-scale, multi-country markets.
(f) Legal provisions movements
Movements have occurred in provisions held for a number of historical legal
claims, and reflect legal costs in North America of US$1m (2023: US$26m),
offset by insurance recoveries of US$nil (2023: US$29m).
9. Net finance expense/(income)
(a) Net finance expense included in profit before tax
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Interest income:
Bank deposits, short-term investments and loan notes (11) (9)
Interest on pension plan assets (7) (4)
Interest income (18) (13)
Net non-benchmark finance income (note 9(c)) - (50)
Finance income (18) (63)
Finance expense:
Interest expense 157 137
Net non-benchmark finance expense (note 9(c)) 3 -
Finance expense 160 137
Net finance expense included in profit before tax 142 74
(b) Net interest expense included in Benchmark PBT
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Interest income (18) (13)
Interest expense 157 137
Net interest expense included in Benchmark PBT 139 124
(c) Analysis of net non-benchmark finance expense/(income)
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Foreign exchange losses on Brazilian real intra-Group funding(1) 1 16
Foreign currency (gains)/losses on cross-currency swaps designated as a (10) 30
cash flow hedge - transfer from OCI
Other financing fair value losses/(gains)(2) 32 (97)
Interest on uncertain tax provisions (20) 1
3 (50)
1. A Group company whose functional currency is not the Brazilian real
provides Brazilian real intra-Group funding to Serasa S.A. Foreign exchange
gains or losses on this funding are recognised in the Group income statement.
2. Other financing fair value gains primarily relate to our portfolio
of interest rate swaps used for managing the proportion of fixed rate debt, as
well as fair value losses of US$10m (2023: gains of US$30m) on borrowings
which are in a cash flow hedge relationship.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
10. Tax
(a) Tax charge and effective rate of tax
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Tax charge(1) 348 401
Profit before tax 1,551 1,174
Effective rate of tax based on profit before tax 22.4% 34.2%
1. The tax charge comprises a current tax charge of
US$441m (2023: US$521m) and a deferred tax credit of US$93m (2023: US$120m).
The Group's tax rate reflects its internal financing arrangements in place to
fund non-UK businesses.
At 31 March 2024, the Group held current and deferred tax liabilities of
US$61m (2023: US$102m) in respect of uncertain tax positions. During the
current and prior year, Experian was in discussions with the US Internal
Revenue Service and His Majesty's Revenue and Customs in the UK to seek
clarity on transfer pricing and financing related issues. The net decrease in
provisions recognised during the year was driven by the agreement of open tax
issues in North America. In the year ended 31 March 2023, the net decrease in
provisions was driven by the agreement of open tax issues in the UK.
Liabilities relating to these open and judgmental matters are based on an
assessment as to whether additional taxes will be due, after taking into
account external advice where appropriate. While the timing of developments in
resolving these matters is inherently uncertain, the Group does not expect to
materially increase its uncertain tax provisions in the next 12 months.
(b) Reconciliation of the tax charge to the Benchmark tax charge
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Tax charge 348 401
Tax relief on Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark 111 33
PBT
Benchmark tax charge 459 434
Benchmark PBT 1,789 1,670
Benchmark tax rate 25.7% 26.0%
(c) Tax recognised in Other comprehensive income and directly in equity
Other comprehensive expense of US$34m (2023: US$287m) is stated after a
deferred tax credit of US$7m (2023: US$5m), relating to remeasurement gains on
post-employment benefit assets and obligations, and changes in the fair value
of investments revalued through OCI.
A tax credit relating to employee share incentive plans of US$10m (2023:
charge of US$9m) is recognised in equity and reported as appropriate within
transactions with owners. This amount comprised a current tax credit of US$1m
(2023: charge of US$5m) and a deferred tax credit of US$9m (2023: charge of
US$4m).
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
11. Earnings per share disclosures
(a) Earnings per share (EPS)
Basic Diluted
2024 2023 2024 2023
US cents US cents US cents US cents
EPS 131.3 84.2 130.2 83.6
Add: Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT, net 14.2 50.9 14.0 50.5
of related tax
Benchmark EPS (non-GAAP measure) 145.5 135.1 144.2 134.1
(b) Analysis of earnings
(i) Attributable to owners of Experian plc
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Profit for the financial year attributable to owners of Experian plc 1,199 770
Add: Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT, net 129 465
of related tax
Benchmark earnings attributable to owners of Experian plc (non-GAAP measure) 1,328 1,235
(ii) Attributable to non-controlling interests
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Profit for the financial year attributable to non-controlling interests 4 3
Deduct: Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT, (2) (2)
net of related tax
Benchmark earnings attributable to non-controlling interests (non-GAAP 2 1
measure)
(c) Reconciliation of Total Benchmark earnings to profit for the financial
year
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Total Benchmark earnings (non-GAAP measure) 1,330 1,236
Exceptional items and other adjustments made to derive Benchmark PBT, net of
related tax:
- attributable to owners of Experian plc (129) (465)
- attributable to non-controlling interests 2 2
Profit for the financial year 1,203 773
(d) Weighted average number of ordinary shares
2024 2023
million million
Weighted average number of ordinary shares 913 914
Add: dilutive effect of share incentive awards, options and share purchases 8 7
Diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares 921 921
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
12. Dividends on ordinary shares
(a) Dividend information
2024 2023
US cents US$m US cents US$m
per share per share
Amounts recognised and paid during the financial year:
First interim - paid in February 2024 (2023: February 2023) 18.00 164 17.00 155
Second interim - paid in July 2023 (2023: July 2022) 37.75 345 35.75 327
Dividends paid on ordinary shares 55.75 509 52.75 482
Full-year dividend for the financial year(1) 58.50 534 54.75 499
1. The cost of the second interim dividend for the year ended 31 March
2023, paid in July 2023, increased by US$1m due to foreign exchange rate
movements.
A second interim dividend in respect of the year ended 31 March 2024 of 40.50
US cents per ordinary share will be paid on 19 July 2024, to shareholders on
the register at the close of business on 21 June 2024. Unless shareholders
elect by 21 June 2024 to receive US dollars, their dividends will be paid in
pounds sterling at a rate per share calculated on the basis of the exchange
rate from US dollars to pounds sterling on 28 June 2024.
This dividend is not included as a liability in these financial statements.
This second interim dividend and the first interim dividend paid in February
2024 comprise the full-year dividend for the financial year of 58.50 US cents
per ordinary share. Dividend amounts are quoted gross.
In the year ended 31 March 2024, the employee trusts waived their entitlements
to dividends of US$3m (2023: US$4m). There is no entitlement to dividends in
respect of own shares held as treasury shares.
(b) Income Access Share (IAS) arrangements
As its ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Company
has a large number of UK resident shareholders. In order that shareholders may
receive Experian dividends from a UK source, should they wish, the IAS
arrangements have been put in place. The purpose of the IAS arrangements is to
preserve the tax treatment of dividends paid to Experian shareholders in the
UK, in respect of dividends paid by the Company. Shareholders who elect, or
are deemed to elect, to receive their dividends via the IAS arrangements will
receive their dividends from a UK source (rather than directly from the
Company) for UK tax purposes.
Shareholders who hold 50,000 or fewer Experian plc shares on the first
dividend record date after they become shareholders, unless they elect
otherwise, will be deemed to have elected to receive their dividends under the
IAS arrangements.
Shareholders who hold more than 50,000 shares and who wish to receive their
dividends from a UK source must make an election to receive dividends via the
IAS arrangements. All elections remain in force indefinitely unless revoked.
Unless shareholders have made an election to receive dividends via the IAS
arrangements, or are deemed to have made such an election, dividends will be
received from an Irish source and will be taxed accordingly. The final date
for submission of elections to receive UK sourced dividends via the IAS
arrangements is 21 June 2024. The Company offers a Dividend Reinvestment Plan
(DRIP) to shareholders who receive their dividends under the IAS arrangements,
and the final date for submission of DRIP elections is also 21 June 2024.
Shareholders should contact the registrars for further details.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
13. Goodwill
(a) Movements in goodwill
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Cost
At 1 April 5,821 5,790
Differences on exchange 19 (149)
Additions through business combinations (note 21) 368 180
At 31 March 6,208 5,821
Accumulated impairment
At 1 April 246 53
Differences on exchange - 14
Impairment charge - 179
At 31 March 246 246
Net book amount at 1 April 5,575 5,737
Net book amount at 31 March 5,962 5,575
(b) Goodwill by group of cash-generating units (CGUs)
2024 2023
US$m US$m
North America 3,841 3,662
Latin America 901 724
UK and Ireland 742 700
EMEA and Asia Pacific 478 -
EMEA - 409
Asia Pacific - 80
At 31 March 5,962 5,575
As a result of the restructuring activities undertaken across the EMEA and
Asia Pacific regions during FY23, and the integration and alignment of the two
regions under a single management team, the combined EMEA and Asia Pacific
group of CGUs now represents the lowest level at which goodwill is allocated
and monitored for internal management purposes.
There was no change in the goodwill allocated to the identified groups of CGUs
as a result of this change, other than to combine the carrying value of
goodwill previously allocated to the separate EMEA group of CGUs and Asia
Pacific group of CGUs into the opening carrying value of the EMEA and Asia
Pacific group of CGUs, as it was determined this approach best reflects the
goodwill associated with the reorganised units.
(c) Key assumptions for value-in-use calculations by group of CGUs
2024 2023
Discount rate Long-term growth rate Discount rate Long-term growth rate
% p.a. % p.a. % p.a. % p.a.
North America 10.6 3.6 11.2 2.3
Latin America 19.1 5.1 15.8 4.7
UK and Ireland 11.7 3.1 10.9 2.3
EMEA and Asia Pacific 13.8 4.1 n/a n/a
EMEA n/a n/a 12.6 3.9
Asia Pacific n/a n/a 11.2 5.3
As indicated in note 6(a) of the Group's statutory financial statements for
the year ended 31 March 2023, value-in-use calculations are underpinned by
financial forecasts looking forward up to five years, which continue to
reflect our current assessment of the impact of climate change and associated
commitments the Group has made. Management's key assumptions in setting the
financial budgets for the initial five-year period were as follows:
· Forecast revenue growth rates were based on past experience,
adjusted for the strategic opportunities within each CGU; the forecasts used
average nominal growth rates of up to 14%, with rates of up to 12% in EMEA and
Asia Pacific.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
13. Goodwill (continued)
(c) Key assumptions for value-in-use calculations by group of CGUs (continued)
· Benchmark EBIT was forecast based on historical margins and
expectations of future performance. Margins were expected to improve modestly
throughout the period in the mature CGUs and improve annually by an absolute
mid-single-digit amount in EMEA and Asia Pacific.
· Forecast Benchmark operating cash flow conversion rates were
based on historical conversion rates achieved and performance expectations in
the respective CGUs, with long-term conversion rates of 93% used in EMEA and
Asia Pacific.
Further details of the principles used in determining the basis of allocation
by CGU and annual impairment testing are given in note 6(a) of the Group's
statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.
(d) Results of annual impairment review for the year ended 31 March 2024
The annual impairment reviews of goodwill were performed as at 30 September
2023. There were no significant changes in the key modelling assumptions
discussed in note 13(c) that would trigger a further review to be required at
31 March 2024. The recoverable amount of the EMEA and Asia Pacific CGU
exceeded its carrying value by US$137m. Any decline in the estimated
value-in-use in excess of that amount would result in the recognition of an
impairment charge. The sensitivities, which result in the recoverable amount
being equal to the carrying value, are summarised as follows:
· an absolute increase of 1.4 percentage points in the discount
rate, from 13.8% to 15.2%; or
· an absolute reduction of 2.0 percentage points in the long-term
growth rate, from growth of 4.1% to growth of 2.1%; or
· a reduction of 3.1 percentage points in the forecast FY29
Benchmark EBIT margin, from 24.1% to 21.0%. A reduction in the annual
Benchmark EBIT margin improvement of approximately 0.6 percentage points per
year over the five-year forecast period would also reduce the recoverable
amount to the carrying value; or
· an absolute reduction of 13% in the forecast FY29 Benchmark EBIT.
The recoverable amount of all other CGUs exceeded their carrying value, on the
basis of the assumptions set out in note 13(c) and any reasonably possible
changes thereof.
In the year ended 31 March 2023, the carrying value of the EMEA CGU was
reduced to its recoverable amount through recognition of an impairment charge
of US$179m, as a result of increased discount rate assumptions used in the
value-in-use calculation, driven by increased underlying risk-free interest
rates and challenging market conditions. This charge was recognised within
total operating expenses in the Group income statement.
The impairment review considered the potential impact of climate change by
considering the results of the scenario analysis performed consistent with the
recommendations of the TCFD. There was no impact on the reported amounts of
goodwill as a result of this review.
14. Capital expenditure, disposals and capital commitments
(a) Additions
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Capital expenditure 640 627
Right-of-use assets 60 39
700 666
b) Disposal of other intangible assets and property, plant and equipment
The book value of other intangible fixed assets and property, plant and
equipment disposed of in the year was US$10m (2023: US$17m), of which US$9m
(2023: US$9m) related to the disposal of right-of-use assets. In the year
ended 31 March 2023, a loss of US$7m on the disposal of internally generated
software assets was reported within non-benchmark items in the Group income
statement, as it related to assets developed for markets in which we no longer
operate as a result of restructuring activity (note 8(d)).
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
14. Capital expenditure, disposals and capital commitments (continued)
(c) Capital commitments
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Capital expenditure for which contracts have been placed:
Other intangible assets 48 56
Property, plant and equipment 7 12
55 68
Capital commitments at 31 March 2024 included US$nil (2023: US$3m) in respect
of right-of-use assets. Capital commitments at 31 March 2024 included
commitments of US$40m not expected to be incurred before 31 March 2025.
Capital commitments at 31 March 2023 included commitments of US$46m not then
expected to be incurred before 31 March 2024.
15. Post-employment benefits - IAS 19 'Employee Benefits' information
(a) Balance sheet assets/(obligations)
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Retirement benefit assets/(obligations) - funded defined benefit plans:
Fair value of funded plans' assets 871 866
Present value of funded plans' obligations (685) (692)
Assets in the Group balance sheet for funded defined benefit pensions 186 174
Obligations for unfunded post-employment benefits:
Present value of defined benefit pensions - unfunded plans (37) (36)
Present value of post-employment medical benefits (2) (3)
Liabilities in the Group balance sheet (39) (39)
Net post-employment benefit assets 147 135
Pension assets are deemed to be recoverable and there are no adjustments in
respect of minimum funding requirements as, under the rules of the UK Experian
Pension Scheme, future economic benefits are available to the Group in the
form of reductions in any future contribution requirements or refunds of
surplus.
The latest full actuarial valuation of the Experian Pension Scheme was carried
out as at 31 March 2022 and there was a moderate funding surplus. The next
full valuation will be carried out as at 31 March 2025.
(b) Movements in net post-employment benefit assets recognised in the Group
balance sheet
2024 2023
US$m US$m
At 1 April 135 164
Differences on exchange 3 (10)
Credit to the Group income statement 4 2
Remeasurement gains/(losses) recognised within OCI 2 (23)
Contributions paid by the Group 3 2
At 31 March 147 135
The Experian Pension Scheme was closed to the future accrual of new benefits
from 1 April 2022. Contributions paid relate to unfunded post-employment
benefits.
The funded defined benefit pension plans hold a range of assets including
global equities, global corporate bonds, secured credit, senior private debt
and a Liability Driven Investment strategy which is used to hedge the interest
rate and inflation sensitivities of the obligations. Collateral levels within
the Liability Driven Investment strategy are closely monitored and remain
robust. The primary drivers impacting the fair value of the plans' funded
assets and obligations are changes to expectations for future pound sterling
interest rates and inflation expectations, as well as the retranslation of
assets and obligations into US dollars.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
15. Post-employment benefits - IAS 19 information (continued)
(c) Income statement credit
2024 2023
US$m US$m
By nature of expense:
Administration expenses 3 2
Charge within labour costs and operating profit 3 2
Interest income (7) (4)
Total net credit to the Group income statement (4) (2)
The income statement credit relates to defined benefit pension plans. Of the
remeasurement recognised in the Statement of comprehensive income, a gain of
US$nil (2023: US$1m) was in respect of post-employment medical benefits, with
the balance relating to defined benefit pension plans.
(d) Financial actuarial assumptions
2024 2023
% p.a. % p.a.
Discount rate 4.9 4.9
Inflation rate - based on the UK Retail Prices Index (the RPI) 3.3 3.3
Inflation rate - based on the UK Consumer Prices Index (the CPI) 2.8 2.9
Increase for pensions in payment - element based on the RPI (where cap is 5%) 3.1 3.1
Increase for pensions in payment - element based on the CPI (where cap is 1.9 1.9
2.5%)
Increase for pensions in payment - element based on the CPI (where cap is 3%) 2.2 2.1
Increase for pensions in deferment 2.8 2.9
Inflation in medical costs 6.3 6.3
While the methodology used to determine the discount rate is unchanged from
that used at 31 March 2023, the data source used by our external actuary to
construct the corporate bond yield curve has been expanded to make better use
of available data and to improve the stability of the discount rate over time.
In constructing the yield curve, judgment is required on the selection of
appropriate bonds to be included and the approach then used to derive the
yield curve. The change to the bond universe has increased retirement benefit
obligations at 31 March 2024 by approximately US$13m or 2%.
The other methods and assumptions used are consistent with those used in the
prior year. Changes to these assumptions in the light of prevailing conditions
may have a significant impact on future valuations.
The principal financial assumption is the real discount rate, which is the
excess of the discount rate over the rate of inflation. The discount rate is
based on the market yields of high-quality corporate bonds of a currency and
term appropriate to the defined benefit obligations. The Experian Pension
Scheme obligations are in pounds sterling and have a maturity on average of 13
years. If the real discount rate increased/decreased by 0.25%, the defined
benefit obligations at 31 March 2024 would decrease/increase by approximately
US$20m and the fair value of plan assets would decrease/increase by
approximately US$24m.
The rates of increase for pensions in payment reflect the separate
arrangements applying to different groups of Experian's pensioners. If the
inflation rate underlying the pension increases (both in payment and in
deferment) increased/decreased by 0.1%, the defined benefit obligations at 31
March 2024 would increase/decrease by approximately US$5m.
The accounting valuation assumes that mortality will be in line with standard
tables adjusted to reflect the expected experience of the Experian Pension
Scheme membership, based on analysis carried out for the 2022 actuarial
valuation. A specific allowance for anticipated future improvements in life
expectancy is also incorporated.
The Group applied a 4% scaling factor to its mortality assumptions at 31 March
2023 to allow for changes in life expectancy anticipated in an updated version
of a standard UK model for projected improvements in life expectancy, which
was due to be issued based on evidence from 2022. This reduced retirement
benefit obligations at 31 March 2023 by approximately US$8m. The updated model
has subsequently been published, and the mortality assumptions at 31 March
2024 have been updated accordingly.
An increase in assumed life expectancy of 0.1 years would increase the defined
benefit obligations at 31 March 2024 by approximately US$2m.
The Group has also considered the potential impact of climate change and, at
the present time, we do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to
require a change in the long-term mortality assumptions. We will continue to
monitor any potential future impact on the mortality assumptions used.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
16. Notes to the Group cash flow statement
(a) Cash generated from operations
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Profit before tax 1,551 1,174
Share of post-tax loss of associates 1 17
Net finance expense 142 74
Operating profit 1,694 1,265
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment (1) -
Net (profit)/loss on disposal of operations (5) 1
Profit on disposal of associate - (1)
Impairment of goodwill - 179
Impairment of other intangible assets(1) - 1
Impairment of held-for-sale assets 1 -
Amortisation and depreciation(2) 714 674
Charge in respect of share incentive plans 132 129
(Increase)/decrease in working capital (note 16(b)) (32) 30
Acquisition expenses - difference between income statement charge and amounts (9) 8
paid
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration 4 45
Movement in Exceptional and other non-benchmark items included in working (58) 15
capital
Movement in Exceptional items included in other intangible assets - 12
Cash generated from operations 2,440 2,358
1. In the year ended 31 March 2023, US$8m of the internally generated
software asset impairment charge was recorded as exceptional as it related to
restructuring activity.
2. Amortisation and depreciation includes amortisation of acquisition
intangibles of US$193m (2023: US$192m) which is excluded from Benchmark PBT.
(b) (Increase)/decrease in working capital
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Trade and other receivables (155) (171)
Trade and other payables 123 201
(Increase)/decrease in working capital (32) 30
(c) Purchase of other intangible assets
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Databases 201 190
Internally generated software 349 335
Internal use software 50 38
Purchase of other intangible assets 600 563
(d) Cash flows on acquisitions (non-GAAP measure)
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Purchase of subsidiaries (note 21(a)) 366 268
Less: net cash acquired with subsidiaries (note 21(a)) (17) (5)
Settlement of deferred and contingent consideration 113 46
As reported in the Group cash flow statement 462 309
Acquisition expenses paid 50 38
Settlement of put options held over shares in subsidiaries - 133
Cash outflow for acquisitions (non-GAAP measure) 512 480
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
16. Notes to the Group cash flow statement (continued)
(e) Cash outflow in respect of net share purchases (non-GAAP measure)
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Issue of ordinary shares (20) (19)
Purchase of shares by employee trusts 56 45
Purchase of shares held as treasury shares 64 149
Cash outflow in respect of net share purchases (non-GAAP measure) 100 175
As reported in the Group cash flow statement:
Cash inflow in respect of shares issued (20) (19)
Cash outflow in respect of share purchases 120 194
Cash outflow in respect of net share purchases (non-GAAP measure) 100 175
Consideration of US$1m (2023: US$nil) for shares issued was outstanding at 31 March 2024.
(f) Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Cash and cash equivalents in the Group balance sheet 312 202
Bank overdrafts (12) (4)
Cash and cash equivalents in the Group cash flow statement 300 198
(g) Reconciliation of Cash generated from operations to Benchmark operating
cash flow (non-GAAP measure)
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Cash generated from operations (note 16(a)) 2,440 2,358
Purchase of other intangible assets (note 16(c)) (600) (563)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (40) (64)
Disposal of property, plant and equipment 1 -
Disposal of assets classified as held-for-sale 2 -
Principal lease payments (48) (57)
Acquisition expenses paid 50 38
Dividends received from associates - 2
Cash flows in respect of Exceptional and other non-benchmark items 59 39
Benchmark operating cash flow (non-GAAP measure) 1,864 1,753
Cash flow conversion for the year ended 31 March 2024 was 97% (2023: 98%).
Benchmark free cash flow for the year ended 31 March 2024 was US$1,170m (2023:
US$1,109m).
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
17. Net debt (non-GAAP measure)
(a) Analysis by nature
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Cash and cash equivalents (net of overdrafts) 300 198
Debt due within one year - bonds and notes (499) -
Debt due within one year - commercial paper (218) (109)
Debt due within one year - lease obligations (36) (42)
Debt due after more than one year - bonds and notes (3,279) (3,733)
Debt due after more than one year - bank loans (84) (85)
Debt due after more than one year - lease obligations (114) (105)
Derivatives hedging loans and borrowings (123) (154)
Net debt (4,053) (4,030)
(b) Analysis by balance sheet caption
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Cash and cash equivalents 312 202
Current borrowings (772) (156)
Non-current borrowings (3,494) (3,943)
Borrowings (4,266) (4,099)
Total of Group balance sheet line items (3,954) (3,897)
Accrued interest reported within borrowings excluded from Net debt 24 21
Derivatives reported within Other financial assets 2 4
Derivatives reported within Other financial liabilities (125) (158)
Net debt (4,053) (4,030)
At 31 March 2024, the fair value of borrowings was US$4,034m (2023: US$3,826m)
and includes lease obligations of US$151m (2023: US$148m) recognised in
respect of right-of-use assets.
(c) Analysis of movements in Net debt (non-GAAP measure)
1 April Movements in the year ended 31 March 2024 31 March
2023 Net Non-cash lease obligation Principal lease payments Net share purchases Additions Fair Exchange 2024
through business combinations
cash movements(1) value and other movements
flow (losses)
/gains
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
Derivatives hedging loans (154) (10) - - - - 14 27 (123)
and borrowings
Borrowings (4,099) (57) (50) - - (7) (17) (36) (4,266)
Liabilities from (4,253) (67) (50) - - (7) (3) (9) (4,389)
financing activities
Accrued interest 21 3 - - - - - - 24
Cash and cash equivalents 202 154 - 48 (100) - - 8 312
Net debt (4,030) 90 (50) 48 (100) (7) (3) (1) (4,053)
1. Non-cash lease obligation movements include additions of US$60m and
disposals of US$10m.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
18. Undrawn committed bank borrowing facilities
2024 2023
US$m US$m
Facilities expiring in:
One to two years 100 365
Two to three years 216 2,050
Three to four years 150 -
Four to five years 1,900 -
2,366 2,415
In March 2024 the Group signed a new syndicated US$1.8bn Revolving Credit
Facility, committed until March 2029. This replaced the US$1.95bn syndicated
Revolving Credit Facility that was due to mature in 2025.
These facilities are at variable interest rates and are in place for general
corporate purposes, including the financing of acquisitions and the
refinancing of other borrowings.
19. Called-up share capital and share premium account
Number of shares Called-up share capital Share premium account
million US$m US$m
At 1 April 2022 970.6 96 1,780
Shares issued under employee share incentive plans 0.8 - 19
At 31 March 2023 971.4 96 1,799
Shares issued under employee share incentive plans 0.8 1 20
At 31 March 2024 972.2 97 1,819
20. Own shares held
Number of shares Cost
of shares
million US$m
At 1 April 2022 56.7 1,129
Purchase of shares by employee trusts 1.5 45
Purchase of shares held as treasury shares 4.8 149
Other vesting of awards and exercises of share options (4.0) (50)
At 31 March 2023 59.0 1,273
Purchase of shares by employee trusts 1.5 56
Purchase of shares held as treasury shares 2.1 69
Other vesting of awards and exercises of share options (3.5) (55)
At 31 March 2024 59.1 1,343
Own shares held at 31 March 2024 included 53.4 million shares (2023: 52.3
million) held as treasury shares and 5.7 million (2023: 6.7 million) shares
held by employee trusts.
The total cost of own shares held at 31 March 2024 of US$1,343m (2023:
US$1,273m) is deducted from Other reserves in the Group balance sheet.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
21. Acquisitions
(a) Acquisitions in the year
The Group made seven acquisitions during the year ended 31 March 2024,
including the acquisition on 15 November 2023 of 100% of WaveHDC LLC
(WaveHDC), a leading provider of patient data solutions to the healthcare
market, for a cash consideration of US$216m. Goodwill of US$179m was
recognised based on the fair value of the net assets acquired of US$37m. This
investment supplements our healthcare business in the USA.
Net assets acquired, goodwill and acquisition consideration are analysed
below.
WaveHDC Other Total
US$m US$m US$m
Intangible assets:
Customer and other relationships 44 24 68
Software development 25 51 76
Marketing-related assets - 3 3
Other intangibles - 12 12
Intangible assets 69 90 159
Property, plant and equipment - 1 1
Deferred tax assets - 11 11
Trade and other receivables 5 16 21
Cash and cash equivalents (note 16(d)) - 17 17
Trade and other payables (37) (27) (64)
Borrowings - (7) (7)
Deferred tax liabilities - (13) (13)
Total identifiable net assets 37 88 125
Goodwill 179 189 368
Total 216 277 493
Satisfied by:
Cash and cash equivalents (note 16(d)) 216 150 366
Put options - 71 71
Contingent consideration - 56 56
Total 216 277 493
These fair values are determined by using established estimation techniques.
Acquisition intangibles are valued using discounted cash flow models. The fair
value of contingent consideration and put option liabilities are determined
using a Monte Carlo simulation model applied to the forecast performance of
the relevant metric linked to each liability.
For the year ended 31 March 2024, the most significant inputs to these
calculations are the proportion of earnings attributable to customer and other
relationships and software development for WaveHDC, alongside the forecast
financial performance, and associated risk and volatility, for MOVA Sociedade
de Empréstimo entre Pessoas S.A. (MOVA) in Brazil, in which the Group
acquired a 51% majority stake on 3 August 2023.
The contingent consideration payable for MOVA is linked to the revenue and
Benchmark EBIT margin performance of the business for the 2024 calendar year.
Providing that certain minimum thresholds are satisfied, we expect the earnout
will pay out within an undiscounted range of US$6m to US$78m. We have
determined the fair value of the contingent consideration liability at
acquisition to be US$32m, which is included in the US$56m of other contingent
consideration above. Following application of the anticipated acquisition
method of accounting for MOVA, we have recognised a put option liability in
respect of the minority 49% shareholding, with the exercise price linked to
the 2028 calendar year revenue and Benchmark EBIT margin performance of the
business. If exercised, we expect the likely range of the undiscounted option
exercise price to be between US$66m and US$283m. We have determined the fair
value of the put option liability at acquisition to be US$71m. If the discount
rate used in this determination increased or decreased by a percentage point,
the put option liability would decrease or increase by approximately US$4m.
We engage with third-party experts to assist with the valuation process for
all significant or complex acquisitions, including for the valuation of the
contingent consideration and put option liabilities associated with the MOVA
acquisition. Fair values on the acquisition of MOVA have been finalised; other
amounts are provisional and will be finalised no later than one year after the
date of acquisition. Provisional amounts, predominantly for intangible assets,
associated tax balances and contingent consideration have been included at 31
March 2024, as a consequence of the timing and complexity of the acquisitions.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
21. Acquisitions (continued)
(a) Acquisitions in the year (continued)
Goodwill represents the synergies, assembled workforces and future growth
potential of the acquired businesses. The goodwill in relation to WaveHDC and
three other acquisitions is currently deductible for tax purposes, and
consequently no deferred tax liability has been recognised on the fair value
adjustments associated with these acquisitions.
(b) Additional information
(i) Current year acquisitions
WaveHDC Other Total
US$m US$m US$m
Increase/(decrease) in book value of net assets from provisional fair value adjustments:
Intangible assets 69 81 150
Deferred tax assets - 7 7
Trade and other payables (2) (2) (4)
Deferred tax liabilities - (13) (13)
Increase in book value of net assets from provisional fair value adjustments 67 73 140
Gross contractual amounts receivable in respect of trade and other receivables 5 16 21
Pro-forma revenue from 1 April 2023 to date of acquisition 20 35 55
Revenue from date of acquisition to 31 March 2024 7 25 32
Profit before tax from date of acquisition to 31 March 2024 1 1 2
At the dates of acquisition, the gross contractual amounts receivable in
respect of trade and other receivables of US$21m were expected to be collected
in full.
If the transactions had occurred on the first day of the financial year, the
estimated additional contribution to profit before tax would have been US$5m.
(ii) Prior years' acquisitions
Contingent consideration of US$112m (2023: US$39m) was settled in the year in
respect of acquisitions made in earlier years. These cash flows are
principally comprised of a US$40m (2023: US$30m) outflow relating to the
acquisition of Tax Credit Co, LLC (TCC) in the year ended 31 March 2022, and a
US$60m (2023: US$nil) outflow relating to the acquisition of BrScan
Processamento de Dados e Tecnologia Ltda (BrScan) in the year ended 31 March
2021. Further detail on contingent consideration fair value adjustments
recognised in the year is provided in note 23(c)(i).
The Group made six acquisitions in the year ended 31 March 2023, which
included CIC Plus, LLC in the USA. A cash outflow of US$263m was reported in
the Group cash flow statement for that year, after deduction of US$5m in
respect of net cash acquired.
There have been no other material gains, losses, corrections or other
adjustments recognised in the year ended 31 March 2024 that relate to
acquisitions in the current or earlier years.
(iii) Post balance sheet acquisitions
On 4 April 2024, we agreed to acquire Credit Data Solutions Pty Ltd (illion),
a leading consumer and commercial credit bureau in Australia and New Zealand
(A/NZ) for a consideration of up to A$820m (c.US$532m). The acquisition of
this highly complementary business will supplement our bureau services in A/NZ
and enhance the competitive dynamics in this market.
On 25 April 2024, we agreed to acquire TEx Soluções em Tecnologia Ltda., an
InsurTech company in Brazil that offers innovative solutions for the insurance
market, for R$90m (c.US$17m).
Completion of both acquisitions is expected in the year ending 31 March 2025,
subject to regulatory approval.
The fair values of goodwill, software development, customer relationships and
other assets and liabilities in respect of these acquisitions will be reported
in the 2025 Experian Annual Report & Accounts, following completion of the
initial accounting.
22. Disposals
During the year we disposed of interests in a number of small subsidiary
undertakings in EMEA and Asia Pacific, two of which were classified as
held-for-sale at 31 March 2023. The profit on disposal was US$5m.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
23. Financial risk management
(a) Financial risk factors
The Group's activities expose it to a variety of financial risks. These are
market risk, including foreign exchange risk and interest rate risk, credit
risk and liquidity risk. The nature of these risks and the policies adopted by
way of mitigation are unchanged from those reported in the Annual Report and
Group financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023. Full information
and disclosures were contained in that document.
(b) Analysis by valuation method for put options and items measured at fair
value
(i) At 31 March 2024
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
US$m US$m US$m US$m
Financial assets:
Non-hedging derivatives - 169 - 169
Other financial assets at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL) - - 14 14
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss - 169 14 183
Listed and trade investments(1) 67 - 167 234
67 169 181 417
Financial liabilities:
Derivatives used for hedging - fair value hedges(2) - (105) - (105)
Non-hedging derivatives - (21) - (21)
Other liabilities at fair value through profit or loss - - (92) (92)
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss - (126) (92) (218)
Derivatives used for hedging - cash flow hedge(1,2) - (10) - (10)
Put options - - (133) (133)
- (136) (225) (361)
Net financial assets/(liabilities) 67 33 (44) 56
(ii) At 31 March 2023
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Total
US$m US$m US$m US$m
Financial assets:
Non-hedging derivatives - 139 - 139
Other financial assets at fair value through profit or loss - - 16 16
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss - 139 16 155
Listed and trade investments(1) 61 - 252 313
61 139 268 468
Financial liabilities:
Derivatives used for hedging - fair value hedges(2) - (124) - (124)
Non-hedging derivatives - (20) - (20)
Other liabilities at fair value through profit or loss - - (139) (139)
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss - (144) (139) (283)
Derivatives used for hedging - cash flow hedge(1,2) - (24) - (24)
Put options - - (33) (33)
- (168) (172) (340)
Net financial assets/(liabilities) 61 (29) 96 128
1. Listed and trade investments, and derivatives designated as a cash flow
hedge, which are in a documented hedge accounting relationship, are revalued
through OCI.
2. Derivatives used for hedging are in documented hedge accounting
relationships.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
23. Financial risk management (continued)
(b) Analysis by valuation method for put options and items measured at fair
value (continued)
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss are reported within
Other financial assets in the Group balance sheet.
Contingent consideration is reported within trade and other payables in the
Group balance sheet. Put options and other financial liabilities at fair value
through profit or loss are reported within Other financial liabilities in the
Group balance sheet. Cross-currency swaps in respect of the cash flow hedge
are reported within Financial assets revalued through OCI or Financial
liabilities revalued through OCI, in the Group balance sheet.
The fair values of derivative financial instruments and other financial assets
and liabilities are determined by using market data and established estimation
techniques such as discounted cash flow and option valuation models. The fair
value of foreign exchange contracts is based on a comparison of the
contractual and year-end exchange rates. The fair values of other derivative
financial instruments are estimated by discounting the future cash flows to
net present values using appropriate market rates prevailing at the year end.
There have been no changes in valuation techniques during the year under
review.
The analysis by level in the above tables, is a requirement of IFRS 13 'Fair
Value Measurement' and the definitions are summarised here for completeness:
· assets and liabilities whose valuations are based on unadjusted
quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities are
classified as Level 1
· assets and liabilities which are not traded in an active market,
and whose valuations are derived from available market data that is observable
for the asset or liability, are classified as Level 2
· assets and liabilities whose valuations are derived from inputs
not based on observable market data are classified as Level 3.
Level 3 items principally comprise minority shareholdings in unlisted
businesses, trade investments, contingent consideration and put options
associated with corporate transactions.
Unlisted equity investments, initially measured at cost, are revalued where
sufficient indicators are identified that a change in the fair value has
occurred. The inputs to any subsequent valuations are based on a combination
of observable evidence from external transactions in the investee's equity and
estimated discounted cash flows that will arise from the investment.
Valuations of material contingent consideration, and put options associated
with corporate transactions, are based on Monte Carlo simulations using the
most recent management expectations of relevant business performance,
reflecting the different contractual arrangements in place.
The ranges of the undiscounted contingent consideration payable and the put
option exercise price on the acquisition of MOVA are set out in note 21(a).
There would be no material effect on the other amounts stated from any
reasonably possible change in inputs at 31 March 2024. There were no transfers
between levels during the current or prior year.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
23. Financial risk management (continued)
(c) Analysis of movements in Level 3 financial assets/(liabilities)
(i) Year ended 31 March 2024
Financial assets revalued through OCI Other financial assets at FVPL Contingent consideration Put Total
options
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
At 1 April 2023 252 16 (139) (33) 96
Additions(1,2) 9 2 (56) (71) (116)
Disposals (1) - - - (1)
Conversion of convertible debt to equity investments(3) 5 (5) - - -
Settlement of contingent consideration (note 21(b)(ii)) - - 112 - 112
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration(2) - - (4) - (4)
Valuation losses recognised in the - - - (31) (31)
Group income statement(4)
Valuation losses recognised in OCI(5) (98) - - - (98)
Currency translation (losses)/gains recognised directly in OCI - - (2) 2 -
Other - 1 (3) - (2)
At 31 March 2024 167 14 (92) (133) (44)
(ii) Year ended 31 March 2023
Financial assets revalued through OCI Other financial assets at FVPL Contingent consideration Put Total
options
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m
At 1 April 2022 295 18 (107) (190) 16
Additions(1,2) 14 1 (35) (11) (31)
Disposals(6) (6) - - - (6)
Settlement of contingent consideration (note 21(b)(ii)) - - 40 - 40
Cash payment on exercise of put options(7) - - - 133 133
Adjustment to the fair value of contingent consideration(2) - - (45) - (45)
Valuation gains/(losses) recognised in the - (2) - 26 24
Group income statement(4)
Valuation losses recognised in OCI (52) - - - (52)
Currency translation gains recognised directly in OCI - - 4 9 13
Other 1 (1) 4 - 4
At 31 March 2023 252 16 (139) (33) 96
1. Additions to put options in the year comprised US$71m in respect of the
acquisition of MOVA, and in the year ended 31 March 2023 related to the
acquisition of APC Buró.
2. Additions to contingent consideration comprised US$56m (2023: US$35m)
in respect of acquisitions. Contingent consideration in relation to the FY22
acquisition of Tax Credit Co, LLC (TCC) decreased by US$9m (2023: increased by
US$49m) following the settlement of all remaining liabilities for US$40m
during the year. Contingent consideration liabilities are revalued at each
reporting date based on current projections of the associated targets, with
any fair value remeasurements recognised as a non-benchmark item in the Group
income statement (note 8(a)).
3. Investments previously held as financial assets at FVPL, are now held
as financial assets revalued through OCI due to the conversion of loan notes
to equity shares.
4. Movements in the present value of expected future payments for put
options are unrealised and are recognised in financing fair value
remeasurements in the Group income statement.
5. Of the valuation losses recognised in OCI US$77m, related to our
investment in Vector CM Holdings (Cayman) L.P.
6. During the year ended 31 March 2023, we disposed of a trade investment
valued at US$6m; US$3m of the consideration was deferred.
7. The cash payment on exercise of put options in the year ended 31 March
2023 related to the purchase of the remaining 40% stake in the Arvato
Financial Solutions Risk Management Division.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
23. Financial risk management (continued)
(d) Fair value methodology
Information in respect of the carrying amounts and the fair value of
borrowings is included in note 17(b). There are no material differences
between the carrying value of the Group's other financial assets and
liabilities not measured at fair value and their estimated fair values. The
following assumptions and methods are used to estimate the fair values:
· the fair values of receivables, payables and cash and cash
equivalents are considered to approximate to the carrying amounts
· the fair values of short-term borrowings, other than bonds, are
considered to approximate to the carrying amounts due to the short maturity
terms of such instruments
· the fair value of that portion of bonds carried at amortised cost
is based on quoted market prices, employing a valuation methodology falling
within Level 1 of the IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy
· the fair value of listed investments is based on quoted market
prices, employing a valuation methodology falling within Level 1 of the IFRS
13 fair value hierarchy
· the fair values of long-term variable rate bank loans and lease
obligations are considered to approximate to the carrying amount
· the fair values of other financial assets and liabilities are
calculated based on a discounted cash flow analysis, using a valuation
methodology falling within Level 2 of the IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy, apart
from the fair values of trade investments and contingent consideration which
are determined using a valuation methodology falling within Level 3 of the
IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy.
The Group considers the impact of climate-related matters, including
legislation, on the fair value measurement of assets and liabilities. At
present, the impact of climate-related matters is not material to the
financial statements.
(e) Carrying value of financial assets and liabilities
There have been no unusual changes in business circumstances that have
affected the carrying value of the Group's financial assets and liabilities at
31 March 2024.
24. Related party transactions
The Group's related parties were disclosed in the Group's statutory financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 and there have been no material
changes during the year ended 31 March 2024.
Transactions with associates are made on normal market terms and in the year
ended 31 March 2024 comprised the receipt of services of US$10m (2023: US$7m).
At 31 March 2024 US$1m (2023: US$nil) was owed to associates.
The Group transacts with a number of related undertakings in connection with
the operation of its share incentive plans, pension arrangements, and the
provision of medical cover in the UK.
The assets, liabilities and expenses of the Experian UK Approved All-Employee
Share Plan and The Experian plc Employee Share Trust are included in these
financial statements.
Details of the Group's post-employment benefit assets and obligations are set
out in note 15. During the year ended 31 March 2024, US$3m (2023: US$3m) was
paid to Experian Medical Plan Limited, in connection with the provision of
healthcare benefits.
There were no other material transactions or balances with these related
undertakings during the current or prior year.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
25. Contingencies
(a) Latin America tax
As previously indicated, Serasa S.A. has been advised that the Brazilian tax
authorities are challenging the deduction for tax purposes of goodwill
amortisation arising from its acquisition by Experian in 2007. The Brazilian
administrative courts have ultimately upheld Experian's position in respect of
the tax years from 2007 to 2012 with no further right of appeal. The Brazilian
tax authorities have raised similar assessments in respect of the 2013 to 2018
tax years, in relation to the goodwill amortisation related to both the
original acquisition of a majority shareholding in Serasa S.A. in 2007 and the
acquisition of the remaining holding in 2012, and also in relation to the
acquisition of Virid Interatividade Digital Ltda in 2011. Experian has claimed
a tax deduction for goodwill amortisation of US$230m across these years.
Brazilian tax authorities may raise similar claims in respect of other years.
The possibility of this resulting in a liability (which may consist of
underpaid tax, interest and penalties), to the Group is considered to be
remote, based on the advice of external legal counsel, success in cases to
date and other factors in respect of the claims.
A similar challenge has been raised in Colombia in respect of the 2014 and
2016 tax years which is not material to the Group. We are contesting this on
the basis of external legal advice.
(b) UK marketing services regulation
We successfully appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) a final enforcement
notice from the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) challenging whether
data for marketing purposes could be processed on the basis of legitimate
interest and was sufficiently transparent under the EU General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR). On 23 April 2024, the Upper Tier Tribunal rejected in full
the ICO's appeal, affirming in all respects the FTT decision.
(c) Other litigation and claims
There continues to be an increase in regulatory activity, including a number
of pending and threatened regulatory actions and other claims involving the
Group across all its major geographies which are in various stages of
investigation or enforcement, and which are being vigorously defended. These
include increased investigation and enforcement activity from the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission in the USA related to
the Credit Reference, Marketing Services and Consumer Services businesses, as
well as potential rulemaking and federal and state level legislation which
could impact our Credit Reference and Marketing Services businesses in the
USA.
We have also seen increased GDPR investigation and enforcement activity in the
European Union (EU), including a claim from the Dutch Data Protection
Authority (the AP) claiming that our Credit Reference business in the
Netherlands (c.US$7m annual turnover) cannot process credit reference data
based on legitimate interest and is not sufficiently transparent under GDPR,
and asserting an associated fine which could range as high as 4% of global
turnover under GDPR. The AP's position is contrary to established regulatory
positions in our other EU markets, which recognise that legitimate interest is
a proper basis to process credit reference data in order to maintain a fair
and efficient lending process. Based on external legal opinions, relevant
precedents, and the facts of the underlying matter, we believe the AP's
position is legally wrong, we will contest the matter and we do not believe it
will have a materially adverse effect on the Group's financial position.
There also continue to be individual consumer and class action litigation
matters in Brazil and the USA related to our Marketing Services, Consumer
Services and Credit Reference businesses. Some of these class action
litigation matters in the USA allege willful misconduct under the US Fair
Credit Reporting Act that, if proven, carry the potential for liability which
includes statutory damages between US$100 to US$1,000 per consumer. The
directors do not believe that the outcome of any individual litigation matter
action will have a materially adverse effect on the Group's financial
position.
As is inherent in legal, regulatory and administrative proceedings, there is a
risk of outcomes that may be unfavourable to the Group. In the case of
unfavourable outcomes, the Group may benefit from applicable insurance
recoveries.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
26. Events occurring after the end of the reporting period
Details of the second interim dividend announced since the end of the
reporting period are given in note 12(a).
On 4 April 2024, we agreed to acquire Credit Data Solutions Pty Ltd (illion),
a leading consumer and commercial credit bureau in Australia and New Zealand,
and on 25 April 2024, we agreed to acquire TEx Soluções em Tecnologia Ltda.,
an InsurTech company in Brazil that offers innovative solutions for the
insurance market. Further details are provided in note 21(b)(iii).
27. Company website
A full range of investor information is available at experianplc.com. Details
of the 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM), to be held in Dublin, Ireland on
Wednesday, 17 July 2024, will be given on the website and in the notice of
meeting. Information on the Company's share price is available on the website.
28. Risks and uncertainties
Identifying and managing risk is key to our purpose and the delivery of our
strategy and objectives. All colleagues play a crucial role in managing risks,
and doing so helps us create long-term shareholder value and protect our
business, people, assets, capital and reputation.
The Board is responsible for maintaining and reviewing the effectiveness of
our risk management activities from a strategic, financial, regulatory and
operational perspective. These activities are designed to identify and manage,
rather than eliminate, the risk of failure to achieve our business objectives
or strategy. Our four-step risk management process is designed to identify,
assess, respond to, report on and monitor the risks that threaten our ability
to do this, within our risk appetite.
We operate in a complex, dynamic business environment across multiple
jurisdictions, providing a range of data-driven services to clients and
consumers. The security of our data, and the resilience of our technology, are
fundamental to the successful delivery of our strategy in meeting the needs of
our various markets. We innovate through investing in the development of our
talent, products and services and through acquisitions and partnerships to
maintain and extend our competitive position. In addition to known principal
risks, which are summarised below, we continue to identify and analyse
emerging ones, and discuss as appropriate in different forums.
(a) Risk area - Data Loss/Misuse
Description
We hold and manage sensitive business, client and consumer information that
increases our exposure and susceptibility to cyber attacks or other
unauthorised access to data, either directly through our online systems or
indirectly through our partners or third-party suppliers.
Potential impact
Loss or unauthorised access to sensitive business, client or consumer data
could cause problems for consumers and clients, result in material loss of
business, substantial legal liability, regulatory enforcement or significant
harm to our reputation. The impact of this risk, if it materialised, would
typically be felt in the short term.
Examples of control mitigation
· We deploy physical and technological security measures, combined
with monitoring and alerting for suspicious activities.
· We maintain an information security programme with strong
governance for identifying, protecting against, detecting and responding to
cyber security risks and recovering from cyber security incidents.
· We impose contractual security requirements on our partners and
other third parties that store, process, transmit, or have access to our data,
complemented by periodic reviews of third-party controls.
· We maintain insurance coverage, where feasible and appropriate.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
28. Risks and uncertainties (continued)
(b) Risk area - Macroeconomic
Description
We operate globally and our results could be affected by global, regional or
national changes in fiscal or monetary policies.
A substantial change in credit markets in the USA, Brazil or the UK could
negatively impact our financial performance and growth potential in those
countries.
A substantial or sustained rise in US, EU or UK interest rates could impact
lending and consumer spending. It could also increase our future cost of
borrowings.
We present our Group financial statements in US dollars but transact business
in a number of currencies. Changes in other currencies relative to the US
dollar affect our financial results.
Potential impact
The US, Brazil and UK markets are significant contributors to our revenue and
profit.
A reduction in one or more of these markets for consumer and business credit
services could reduce our revenue and profit.
We benefit from the strengthening of currencies relative to the US dollar and
are adversely affected by currencies weakening relative to it.
We have outstanding debt denominated principally in US dollars, pounds
sterling and euros. As this debt matures, we may need to replace it with
borrowings at higher interest rates.
The impact of this risk, if it materialised, would typically be felt in the
short to long term.
Examples of control mitigation
· We have a diverse portfolio by region, product, sector and
client. We provide cyclical and counter-cyclical products and services.
· We convert cash balances in foreign currencies into US dollars.
· We fix the interest rates on a proportion of our borrowings.
· We review contingency plans in our key markets for specific
potential responses to evolving financial conditions.
(c) Risk area - Legislative/regulatory change and compliance
Description
We hold and manage sensitive consumer information and we must comply with many
complex privacy and consumer protection laws, regulations and contractual
obligations. In addition, as we enter new business areas such as payments in
our consumer business, we will be exposed to new regulations and in some cases
new regulators.
Heightened regulatory activity, new laws and regulations, changes to and new
or novel interpretations of existing laws and regulations create a risk that
we fail to comply with new or existing laws and regulations as we have
interpreted and implemented them into our businesses.
Potential impact
Non-compliance may result in material litigation, including class actions, as
well as regulatory actions. These could result in significant civil or
criminal liability, fines or penalties, damage to our reputation or
significant changes to parts of our business or business practices which could
result in increased costs or reduced revenue. The impact of this risk, if it
materialised, would typically be felt in the short to long term.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
28. Risks and uncertainties (continued)
(c) Risk area - Legislative/regulatory change and compliance (continued)
Examples of control mitigation
· We seek to establish and maintain relationships with our
principal regulators, where possible. Where necessary and appropriate we
engage external counsel on interpretation.
· We maintain a compliance management framework that includes
defined policies and procedures for the interpretation and implementation of
laws and regulations, including control objectives, accountability and
assurance practices.
· Our global Compliance team has region-specific regulatory
expertise and works with our businesses to identify and adopt balanced
compliance strategies.
· We assess the appropriateness of using data in new and changing
products and services.
· We operate a horizon scanning process to identify potential
changes in laws and regulation and assess their impact.
· Our Government Affairs strategic plan and policy-influencing
activity seeks to respond to legislative proposals and influence their outcome
to mitigate impacts on Experian strategy.
· We vigorously defend all pending and threatened claims, employing
internal and external counsel to manage and conclude such proceedings
effectively.
(d) Risk area - Resiliency
Description
Delivery of our products and services depends on a number of key IT systems
and processes that expose our clients, consumers and businesses to serious
disruption in the event of systems or operational failures.
Potential impact
Failure to manage service availability and enterprise resiliency, and its
impact on clients and/or consumers within established risk tolerance levels
could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial performance,
financial condition and reputation. Availability of our products and services
is impacted by both our software applications and technology infrastructure. A
failure arising from technology change, cloud account misconfigurations or
component breakdown could result in client and consumer disruption. The impact
of this risk, if it materialised, would typically be felt in the short term.
Examples of control mitigation
· Our operations are designed to avoid material and sustained
disruption to our businesses, clients and consumers.
· We design applications to be resilient and with a balance between
longevity, sustainability and speed.
· Active monitoring of service levels and incident management is in
place globally to maintain focus on the availability of products to meet
client and consumer requirements.
· We maintain a global integrated business continuity framework
that includes industry-appropriate policies, procedures and controls for all
our systems and related processes, as well as ongoing review, monitoring and
escalation activities.
· We maintain back-up data centres.
(e) Risk area - Business conduct
Description
At Experian, we place the utmost importance on operating with honesty,
integrity and high ethical standards. We are committed to maintaining the
highest level of professionalism in the conduct of our business.
Potential impact
Failure to conduct our business operations in an appropriate manner could
adversely affect our clients, consumers or counterparties. The impact of this
risk, if it materialised, would typically be felt in the short term.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
28. Risks and uncertainties (continued)
(e) Risk area - Business conduct (continued)
Examples of control mitigation
· We enforce our Global Code of Conduct, Anti-Corruption Policy,
and Gifts and Hospitality Policy. If we believe employees or suppliers are not
following our conduct standards, we will investigate thoroughly and take
disciplinary/corrective action where appropriate.
· Our policies are reviewed and updated on a clearly defined cycle
to reflect our current risk landscape and control environment.
· Risk and compliance testing provides insights across our control
environment and flags where remediation action is appropriate. Additionally,
our internal reporting provides oversight of our fraud prevention and
detection activities.
· Experian operates a Confidential Helpline for anyone who needs to
raise a concern about our conduct. This is facilitated by an external provider
and managed by Global Internal Audit.
(f) Risk area - Talent acquisition and retention
Description
Our success depends on our ability to attract, motivate and retain key talent
while also building future leadership.
Potential impact
Not having the right people could materially affect our ability to innovate
our products, service our clients and grow our business. The impact of this
risk, if it materialised, would typically be felt in the medium term.
Examples of control mitigation
· In every region, we have ongoing programmes for recruitment,
personal and career development, and talent identification and development.
· As part of our strategy, we conduct periodic employee surveys and
track progress of any resulting action plans.
· We offer competitive compensation and benefits, and review these
regularly.
· We monitor attrition rates, with a focus on individuals
designated as high talent or in strategically important roles. Our predictive
models help us proactively mitigate potential attrition risks.
(g) Risk area - Competition
Description
We operate in dynamic market spaces such as consumer and business credit
information, decisioning software, fraud, marketing, and consumer services.
Our competitive landscape is still evolving, with traditional players
reinventing themselves, emerging players investing heavily and new entrants
making commitments in new technologies or approaches to our markets. There is
a risk that we will not respond adequately to such disruptions, or that our
products and services will fail to meet changing client and consumer
preferences.
Potential impact
Failure to respond and adapt to the evolving competitive landscape and
differentiate our services to meet fast-changing consumer, investor and
stakeholder expectations may limit our ability to leverage market
opportunities and result in an inability to deliver on strategic and financial
objectives. Price reductions may reduce our margins and financial results.
Increased competition may reduce our market share, harm our ability to obtain
new clients or retain existing ones, affect our ability to recruit talent, and
influence our investment decisions. We might also be unable to support changes
in the way our businesses and clients use and purchase information, affecting
our operating results. The impact of this risk, if it materialised, would
typically be felt in the long term.
Notes to the financial statements (continued)
for the year ended 31 March 2024
28. Risks and uncertainties (continued)
(g) Risk area - Competition (continued)
Examples of control mitigation
· We continue to research and invest in new data sources,
analytics, technology, capabilities and talent to support our strategic plan.
· Innovation remains a strategic focus and we continue to develop
new products and data assets that leverage our scale and expertise and allow
us to deploy capabilities in new and existing markets and geographies. We
prioritise and develop our best innovation ideas globally.
· We deploy robust processes to identify, evaluate and select our
acquisition, investment and partnership opportunities, so we can efficiently
and effectively introduce new products and solutions to the market.
· Where appropriate, and available, we make acquisitions, minority
investments and strategic alliances to acquire new capabilities and enter into
new markets.
(h) Risk area - Investment outcomes
Description
We critically evaluate, and may invest in, equity investments and other growth
opportunities, including internal performance improvement programmes. To the
extent invested, any of these may not produce the desired financial or
operating results.
Potential impact
Failure to produce the desired financial or operating results, due to
ineffective execution of business acquisitions, investments or partnerships
may result in material loss, substantial legal liability and significant harm
to Experian's reputation. The impact of this risk, if it materialised, would
typically be felt in the long term.
Examples of control mitigation
· Executive management processes are in place to enable
comprehensive business reviews by key stakeholders and committees, such as our
Investment/Valuation Committee and our Global Strategic Projects Committee.
· Due diligence and post-investment reviews are conducted on all
acquisitions and investments to ensure alignment with strategy and mitigation
of risk.
· We prioritise our activities within integration plans to ensure
we target first the most significant gaps to Experian policy.
· We employ a robust capital allocation framework.
· We design our incentive programmes to optimise shareholder value
through delivery of balanced, sustainable returns and a sound risk profile
over the long term.
Statement of directors' responsibilities
The directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, the financial
statements are prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting
standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial
position and profit of the Company and the Group taken as a whole; and the
Strategic report contains a fair review of the development and performance of
the business and the position of the Company and the Group taken as a whole,
together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they
face, which is included in note 28.
The names and functions of the directors in office as at 16 May 2023 were
listed in the Experian Annual Report 2023. Louise Pentland was appointed as
chair of the Remuneration Committee on 1 January 2024, replacing Alison
Brittain who stepped down from the role on that date. There have been no other
subsequent changes to directors or their functions, and a list of current
directors is maintained on the Company website at experianplc.com
(http://www.experianplc.com) .
By order of the Board
Charles Brown
Company Secretary
14 May 2024
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