'Nice Performance' at Nielsen as Revenues Rise

Nielsen has reported a 5% increase in third quarter revenues to $1.29bn, from $1.23bn for the prior year period, or 7% on a constant currency basis.

In the firm's 'Buy' consumer research business, revenue increased 7% to $808m, which CFO Brian West (pictured) said had been driven by 19% growth in developing markets as opposed to 5% in the developed markets.

Adjusted operating income in the Buy division rose 24% to $112m on a constant currency basis, while for the first nine months of the year, revenue was up 8% to $2.4bn, reflecting what West describes as a 'very nice performance' in nearly all parts of the world.

On a constant currency basis, the Insights division - which includes forecasting, modeling and analytics services - saw revenues rise 15% to $242m, while in the Information retail measurement and consumer panel segment, revenue rose 4.1% to $566m.

'Watch' - the firm's media measurement arm - saw revenues up 1.1% at $418m, which West said had been driven by double-digit increases in online and mobile areas, while the global TV audience measurement business 'held steady'.

Operating income for the division was $81m, compared with a loss of $313m for the prior year period. For the nine months to date, revenue rose 9.7% to $2.3bn.

Overall for the group, income for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 was $515m, compared with an operating loss of $42m for the previous year period.

At this date, Nielsen's total debt was $8.5bn, which the firm is hoping to offset against an initial public offering (IPO) to raise $2.01bn by selling stock.

Earlier this month, two of Nielsen's subsidiaries also announced plans to sell $750m of senior notes which are due in 2018, in order to pay off a proportion of the research giant's debt.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .