Latin America
Latin America performed strongly, driven by double-digit growth in Credit Services. There was significant margin progression, up 350 basis points.
| 2009 | 2008 | Total growth1 |
Organic growth1 |
|||||||
| Six months ended 30 September | US$m | US$m | % | % | ||||||
| Revenue | ||||||||||
| Credit Services | 245 | 251 | 15 | 15 | ||||||
| Decision Analytics | 4 | 4 | (8 | ) | (8 | ) | ||||
| Marketing Services | 6 | 8 | (9 | ) | (9 | ) | ||||
| Total Latin America | 255 | 263 | 14 | 14 | ||||||
| EBIT | ||||||||||
| Total Latin America | 75 | 68 | 30 | |||||||
| EBIT margin | 29.4% | 25.9% |
| 1 | Growth at constant exchange rates |
Credit Services
Credit Services grew strongly in the half, with total revenue growth at constant currency of 15% and organic revenue growth also of 15%. There was growth across consumer information and business information, driven by clients trading up to higher value-added products, strength in countercyclical activities such as collections and from further penetration of the SME channel, where volume growth was strong.
Decision Analytics and Marketing Services
While organic revenue declined in Decision Analytics and Marketing Services, this was off a small base in each case. Key business development initiatives during the period included new product launches, adapted from Experian’s set of global products. This included software for account management (PMP) and online competitive intelligence (Hitwise). Further new product launches are planned over the remainder of the year.
Financial review
Revenue was US$255m for Latin America, up 14% at constant exchange rates. Organic revenue growth was also 14%.
EBIT in the half was US$75m, up 30% at constant exchange rates. The EBIT margin expanded by 350 basis points to 29.4%. The margin improvement principally reflects strong positive operating leverage arising from volume growth and the migration towards higher value-added services, as well as a reduction in integration charges.