I reckon Experian’s (LSE: EXPN) broad global footprint should lay the foundation for excellent earnings expansion long into the future.
Indeed, the huge growth potential of its far-flung regions was laid bare by its latest quarterly update in January. The credit scoring colossus advised that organic revenues in Latin America climbed 8% during October-December, while aggregated sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific climbed 6%.
This helped total organic revenues at Experian to climb 4% in the quarter. And I fully expect turnover growth from emerging regions to really gather steam in the years ahead as spiralling wealth levels drive demand for financial products.
For one, the improving economic outlook in Brazil certainly lends huge weight to Experian’s growth outlook in the near term and beyond — central bank data overnight showed the country’s economy grew at the fastest rate for seven years in February.
And while growth in North America has been less impressive of late (organic revenues rose 3% in the third quarter versus 6% in the prior six months), the strength of the US economy should continue to keep activity on an upward curve.
Perky predictions
The City expects Experian to follow an anticipated 3% earnings rise in the year to March 2017 with an 8% advance in the current fiscal period. And this is not the end of the story, with growth expected to swell further, to 10%, in fiscal 2019.
A forward P/E ratio of 20.4 times may appear expensive on paper, sailing above the widely-regarded value benchmark of 15 times.
But I reckon Experian has plenty of levers to deliver resplendent long-term earnings growth, and for this the business merits such a premium. As well as its broad territorial presence, investors can also look to Experian’s presence across multiple sectors to deliver reliable earnings expansion in the years ahead.
And Experian also has plenty of financial clout to deliver bumper bottom-line growth through further acquisitions.
Data darling
Business information provider RELX (LSE: REL) is also expected to generate solid profits expansion during the medium term at least.
For 2017 and 2018, earnings advances of 1% and 8% are presently predicted by City brokers. And while dealing on a forward P/E ratio of 19.3 times, I reckon RELX remains a great pick at current prices, particularly as tomorrow’s trading update could lead to forecast upgrades.
RELX saw revenues shoot 15% higher during 2016, to £6.9bn, reflecting the positive impact of sterling weakness. But a 4% organic sales rise underlines the success of RELX’s ongoing transformation drive (the company was formerly known as Reed Elsevier) as it moves to digital data services and away from traditional print formats.
And like Experian, RELX’s earnings outlook is bolstered still further by its vast worldwide presence, and particularly its robust position in the US (the company sources around 54% of revenues from the world’s largest economy, versus just 8% from the UK). I reckon there is plenty here for growth investors to get excited about.