Q3 revenues were up 10% for Nielsen Holdings to $1.41 billion, beating the Wall Street consensus of $1.39 billion. Earnings per share beat the consensus by six cents at 42 cents. Not surprisingly, the stock shot up on Thursday, gaining $2.49, or 9.1%, for the day to close at $29.88.
Both the Watch division (including US TV ratings) and the Buy division (consumer data) posted 8% gains in profitability, as measured in EBITDA adjusted for currency fluctuations). Buy led the company in revenue growth, up 7%, while Watch was up 4%. Adjusted for currency fluctuations, the total revenue growth for the company was 6%.
Watch revenues rose 4% to $443 million and EBITDA gained 8% to $180 million
Buy revenues rose 7% to $906 million and EBITDA gained 8% to $192 million.
The smaller Expositions unit saw revenues rise 2% to $64 million and EBITDA was up 3% to $37 million.
Nielsen reaffirmed its financial guidance for all of 2011. Full year revenues are expected to be up 5-7%, with adjusted net income growth of 26-30%.
Photo: Nielsen executives ring the NYSE bell on the companys’ 1st day of trading, January 27, 2011
