Strong Dollar Hides Nielsen Revenue Growth; Profits Up

Nielsen has reported a 2.1% drop in first quarter 2015 revenue to $1.46 billion, caused by the impact of foreign exchange - at constant currency, revenue was up 4.4%. Profits rose 8.6% to $63m from $58m in Q1 2014.

In the latest quarter, Nielsen's Buy consumer purchase behavior segment reported a 5.1% rise in revenue on a constant currency basis to $798m. Revenue in the division's emerging markets grew 10.2%, while those in the developed markets were up 3.0% in constant currency terms.

In the Watch media research arm, sales increased 1.2% to $660m, a rise of 3.6% in constant currency terms, which the firm says was driven by the 'continued strength' in audience measurement and marketing effectiveness. These gains were offset by actions taken to shed some of Nielsen's non-core products, as well as expected ongoing declines in the legacy online rankings product which will be replaced by the launch of Digital Content Ratings later this year. Excluding this impact, the Watch segment grew 5.8% on a constant currency basis.

Overall for the group, Adjusted EBITDA increased 1.1% to $380m, or 7.3% in constant currency terms, and Adjusted Net Income increased 4.8% to $173m, or 14.6% on a constant currency basis, compared to the first quarter of 2014.

CEO Mitch Barns (pictured) commented: 'As we look ahead, we remain focused on, first, providing our clients with the solutions they need for total audience measurement and second, guiding the industry towards adoption of a new metric that captures more of the viewing in the rapidly fragmenting media world in which we operate.'

Web site: www.nielsen.com .