‘Weak’ year will transform Experian
COMPANY ‘UNDERPERFORMED’ FINANCIALLY IN TROUBLED 2020
ONE of Nottinghamshire’s biggest firms has launched a transformation programme to “enhance” its performance after bosses admitted it had underperformed over the last year.
Information services firm Experian, headquartered at the NG2 Business Park, reported “weakness” in its overall profitability for the year to March 31, 2020.
The profit for the UK arm of the company stood at £32 million for the year, described as satisfactory by directors, but some way off 2019’s £97 million profit.
A statement signed off by the board on the company’s full accounts reads: “The UK had a challenging year and underperformed our expectations, with weakness in both revenue performance in B2B (business to business services) and in profitability overall.
“We have launched a transformation programmed to enhance the performance of the business.”
The accounts, released on the Companies House website, also show a turnover of £576 million for the year to March 31, against £598 million the previous year.
No further details were released as to what the transformation programme would entail.
However, in Experian’s global annual report, released earlier this year, UK and Ireland managing director Jose Luiz Rossi said: “We have made progress in some areas and are pleased that our free consumer platform now has 7.5 million members who can benefit from financial education, credit monitoring and credit-matching services.
“As elsewhere in Experian, we are committed to using our data expertise and analytics to help the vulnerable and support our communities during the Covid-19 crisis.”
The pandemic is seen as one of the major long-term risks facing the company.
The accounting period ended just after the country went into lockdown to curb the pandemic.
But earlier this year the company’s annual report said: “With the Covid19 pandemic, there is increasing likelihood of a global recession, the severity and duration of which is uncertain.”