Arbitron Revenue Up 10% Post PPM Commercialization

US ratings giant Arbitron has reported a 10% increase in Q4 2010 revenue to $111.7m (Q4 2009: $101.5m), on the back of its continued commercialization of the Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings service.

Costs and expenses for the fourth quarter decreased by 2.8%, from $95.3m in 2009 to $92.7m in 2010, which the firm says was primarily as a result of cost savings stemming from 'continued efficiencies' in various corporate overheads, as well as reduced legal expenses compared with last year.

These savings offset planned cost increases resulting from the commercialization of the PPM service in 15 additional markets during 2010.

For the full year ended December 31, 2010, revenue was $395.4m; an increase of 2.7% versus revenue of $385.0m for the same period in 2009. This was impacted by certain customers who were subscribers in 2009, but reduced their level of service or did not subscribe in all periods of 2010.

'In 2010, we addressed issues and concerns raised by the PPM Coalition and other customers, established the framework to leverage our PPM technology and panel for growth, and continued to enhance and evolve senior management positions. And as we announced in December, we also renewed our contract with our largest customer, Clear Channel,' stated President and CEO William Kerr.

Looking forward, Kerr said that Arbitron intends to focus on developing integrated measures, creating new services to complement radio's shift to digital, and further developing its cross-platform capabilities, as well as in media and marketing analytics.

Arbitron continues to expect 2011 revenue to increase between 6% and 8% over its 2010 revenue.

Separately, yesterday, the Arbitron Board announced that it has extended Kerr's employment agreement for a further year to January 2013, in recognition of the leadership role he has played during a year of 'extraordinary events'.

Web site: www.arbitron.com .