Insider Media Limited

Experian, the Nottingham-based credit reference and anti-fraud company, this morning said it remains on the hunt for global acquisitions after growing interim revenues by 15 per cent.

The company, which yesterday completed the $380m (£238m) purchase of Computec, reported sales of $2.3bn (£1.4bn) for the six months to 30 September 2011, up from $2bn (£1.25bn) for the same period last year. Total EBIT from continuing operations also rose 16 per cent to $560m (£351m).

"Experian has again delivered a strong performance driven by solid execution of our strategy," said chief executive Don Robert. "We are realising the benefits of investment in our global growth programme, which is increasingly apparent in our results.

"While the external environment remains uncertain, we are driving growth by pursuing the many opportunities open to us. For the second half, we expect organic revenue growth at least as strong as the first half. For the year as a whole, we reiterate our expectations of modest margin improvement and strong cashflow conversion."

Experian's said its growth in Latin America has been "very strong" over the past six months, driven by its expansion in Brazil. In July, the group bought Virid Interatividade Digital, a Brazil-based email marketing company, while it said the deal to buy Computec also extended its credit bureau footprint to Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

Net debt in the half increased by $207m (£129.9m) to $1.7bn (£1.06bn) at 30 September 2011, in the seasonally weaker half for cash flow. Shares in the company closed at 784 pence on Wednesday (9 November), valuing it at about £7.9bn ($12.6bn).

Chairman Sir John Peace added: "Experian has made excellent progress in the half, creating further shareholder value through strong financial performance and a 14 per cent dividend increase to 10.25 US cents."