Amidst the fall out of the global credit crunch, credit information provider Experian has seen an 8% rise in earnings over the first half of its fiscal year. It is also forecasting that this level of growth should be maintained through the remainder of the calendar year.

Experian, which employs some 15,500 people in 38 countries, reported it has seen total earnings before interest and tax increase 8% at actual exchange rates to US$476m over the six months to the end of September.

Its share price has responded positively to the news, rising more than 11% as of noon today, according to Hemscott data. The Dublin-based company said it has seen a 9% rise, in US dollar terms, in pre-tax profits rise over the six months to end of September. It has increased its first interim dividend by 4% to 6.75 US cents per share.

The group attributed its performance to strong growth in its international business, particularly in Latin America while its consumer direct and decision analytics divisions offset market challenges in US and UK credit services.

Don Robert, Experian’s CEO, said the company is adapting to market challenges, which he expects to persist into next year. “We are focusing resources on current needs and helping our financial services clients with cash recoveries and collections. We are intensifying client education efforts, reallocating sales resource and aligning sales incentives in order to get to market quickly with a wide range of countercyclical products, across all relevant business lines.”

In the medium term, Robert said he expects Experian to benefit from the expected consolidation in the financial services industry and the emergence of larger global institutions. These larger institutions will need to standardise and upgrade risk management processes as a result of increased regulation, which Robert believes into Experian's strengths.

Robert said looking ahead he expects organic revenue growth for the third quarter to be similar to that in the first half.

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