Nielsen 1Q Adjusted EPS Rises 10.9%, Beats Expectations

Nielsen Holdings plc NLSN disclosed that its adjusted net income advanced 8.1 percent or 9.4 percent on a constant currency basis. Similarly, its adjusted earnings per share also increased 10.9 percent to $0.51 from $0.46 in the year-ago quarter. This was $0.01 a share higher than the Street analysts' expectations.

Nielsen said its net income jumped 60.3 percent to $101 million or 62.9 percent on a constant currency basis, from the first quarter of 2015 due to strong revenue growth, ongoing productivity initiatives and the operating leverage of the business. Similarly, its earnings advanced to $0.27 a share from $0.17 a share in the prior year quarter.

According to the company, revenues rose 2.0 percent or 5.2 percent on a constant currency basis to $1.487 billion driven by its Buy and Watch units. This was in line with the Street analysts' predictions of $1.49 billion.

Nielsen CEO Mitch Barns commented, "Nielsen's strong first quarter results were underpinned by our steady and resilient business model, which drove 5.2% constant currency revenue growth, continued margin expansion and strong earnings growth. Fueled by 10.0% growth in emerging markets and growing momentum with retailers globally, our Buy segment grew 4.3% on a constant currency basis. Our Watch segment grew 6.3% on a constant currency basis due to meaningful progress with our Total Audience Measurement framework and notable growth with our precision targeting and analytical solutions within Marketing Effectiveness. In addition, we are pleased to announce an 11% increase to our quarterly dividend as we continue to deliver on our ongoing commitment to create shareholder value through our balanced capital allocation approach."

Barns continued, "As we look to the year ahead, our business will be driven by three key factors. One, we are leading industry discussions on the adoption of a new currency metric fueled by our Total Audience Measurement framework. Two, the value of audience segmentation and precision marketing is increasing and our unique set of analytic capabilities, bolstered by our recent launch of the Nielsen Marketing Cloud, position us well to provide clients with metrics to help improve performance. And three, we continue to make progress on our plans for a platform-based system that aligns and connects our wide array of measurement and analytics data for our fast-moving consumer goods clients."

On Tuesday, shares of the company gained 1.31 percent.

Posted In: EarningsNews
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