ACNielsen Still Going Strong 22/07/00 Strong growth has continued into the second quarter at ACNielsen as the research giant reports earnings of US$22.3 million compared with US$20.9 million in the previous year. All regions contributed to revenues up nearly 10% in local currency terms. The 2000 figures exclude a pre-tax charge of US$11.8 million for Operation Leading Edge, the company's plan to accelerate growth. Including the charge, reported earnings were US$14.8 million. According to Nicholas L Trivisonno, Chairman and CEO of ACNielsen, "Our business is vibrant and growing, as demand for our services remains strong around the world. With a solid first half behind us, we're on track to reach our full-year targets of 25% core earnings per share growth and a 10% operating margin. Equally important, we're encouraged by the early progress of Operation Leading Edge and ACNielsen eRatings.com, as we create enhanced capabilities to accelerate our future growth." Operation Leading Edge, announced in February 2000, is a series of business-building initiatives that will position the company to double its core earnings per share and achieve an operating margin approaching 14% by 2002. During the quarter, ACNielsen began the process of upgrading its information processing and content-delivery systems, an initiative that will expand the company's service capabilities, improve its performance and position it for future growth. The company also took steps to streamline its operations and rationalise facilities. The major results by operating region are as follows: Americas Region Revenue, in local currency, rose 12.0%, with the US, Canada and Latin America each recording double-digit growth. After translating local currencies to the US dollar, reported revenue came in at US$183.9 million, 11.7% higher than last year.   Europe, Middle East and Africa Region Local-currency revenue rose 6.6%, as the United Kingdom, France, the Nordic countries and the Emerging Markets each turned in a strong quarter, and ACNielsen BASES continued its expansion in Europe. But with local currencies weakening against the dollar, the region absorbed a US$15.2 million negative impact from foreign-currency translation. This resulted in reported revenue of US$145.5 million, down 3.4% from the prior year. On the operating income side, the region saw strong performances in a number of key markets, especially France and the United Kingdom. However, total operating income fell 8.2% in local currency, due to a decline in Germany, where the company experienced difficulties in the transition to the new MarketTrack retail measurement service.   Asia Pacific Region Asia Pacific reported revenue of US$71.9 million, up 10.1%. In local currency, revenue advanced 9.8%, led by double-digit growth in Hong Kong, Korea and Southeast Asia.   ACNielsen eRatings.com During the second quarter, ACNielsen eRatings.com began delivering information from its Internet measurement service in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. This resulted in revenues of US$0.5 million for the quarter.