Revenue Rise for Nielsen

Nielsen has reported $1,214m revenues for Q1, an increase of 13% from Q1 2007. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, the increase was a healthy 8%. However, the firm still made a net loss from continuing operations of $82m.

Operating income was $122m, a rise of 41% from Q1 2007 at constant currencies after adjusting for restructuring costs and compensation agreements. For the twelve month period ended March 31, covenant EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and other adjustments was $1,345m.

As of March 31, 2008, total debt was $8,527m and cash balances were $354m. Capital expenditures were $69m for Q1 2008, compared with $49m for the three months period ended March 31, 2007.

In a conference call to discuss the results today, Nielsen Company CEO David Calhoun played down the potential impact of a GfK-TNS merger, suggesting that the companies' strengths lie in panels and customised research, while Nielsen is 'heavily focused' on media and online.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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