News notes

Farmington Hills, Mich., research firm MORPACE International Inc. has changed its name to Morpace Inc. The company ownership and corporate structure have not changed. All existing contracts remain in effect.

Acquisitions/transactions

Synovate has acquired Research Solutions, an Auckland, New Zealand research agency with a staff of 45 full-time employees and 200 interviewers.

Alliances/strategic partnerships

New York researcher TNS has entered into a strategic alliance with Intellidyn, a Hingham, Mass., database marketing and analytic services company focused in the financial services sector. Through the alliance, TNS intends to create a new global practice entitled TNS Customer Intelligence Consulting.

Association/organization news

Dallas-based Common Knowledge Research Services announced its participation in the Your Opinion Counts program, a community of researchers who have pledged to uphold marketing research industry standards and the program’s Respondent Bill of Rights. The program, maintained by the Council for Marketing and Opinion Research, was designed to encourage the public’s participation in research and to help the public differentiate legitimate research organizations from those who are selling or engaging in unethical activity under the guise of research. Common Knowledge is the first online panel company to join.

Awards/rankings

Edison, N.J., research firm Schlesinger Associates has won the Celebrated Company Award from the Marketing Research Association. The award is given to the firm that has provided “outstanding volunteer efforts and has shown outstanding support at the national and chapter level for at least five years.”

Managing the Customer Experience, A Measurement-Based Approach, written by Morris Wilburn, an associate research director with Milwaukee research firm Market Probe, was recently selected as a finalist in the National Best Books 2007 Awards sponsored by USAbooknews.com. The awards recognized 500 winners and finalists in over 140 categories covering print, audio books and courses, e-books and interactive CD-ROMs. Awards were presented for titles published in 2007 and late 2006.

G & S Research Inc., Indianapolis, received a 2007 Business Ethics Award from the Better Business Bureau of Central Indiana.

Research firm Greenfield Online Inc., Wilton, Conn., has been named to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Program for Connecticut, a ranking of the 50 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies in the area by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP. Rankings are based on the percentage revenue growth over five years from 2002-2006.

Arbitron’s Portable People Meter was selected as one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2007.

New accounts/projects

London research firm SKOPOS Market Insight has added Soccerex, a global convention and exhibition for the soccer business, as a client.

Montreal research firm Groupe Voxco Inc. has added two new clients in New Zealand. The Ministry of Social Development of New Zealand has purchased the firm’s Virtual Call Center. And New Zealand research firm Consumer Link is using Voxco Command Center for its phone and Web surveys as well as its panel management needs.

The Nielsen Company, Schaumburg, Ill., has signed agreements with eight convenience store retailers including Circle K, Cumberland Farms, Murphy USA, Valero and Wilson Farms. Under the census agreements, Nielsen will provide consumer product goods manufacturers with access to weekly data and sales information for the convenience retailers’ corporate stores, enabling manufacturers to analyze granular insights and implement plans at the store-level. The agreements represent a total of 7,400 stores in the U.S.

New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions

Arbitron Inc., New York, announced that Red Zebra Broadcasting has signed a multi-year agreement that includes Portable People Meter ratings services when the service is introduced in Washington, D.C. 

Separately, urban adult contemporary radio station KJLH-FM has signed a multi-year agreement for the Arbitron Portable People Meter ratings service in Los Angeles when the service is introduced in that market. And Liberman Broadcasting, a Spanish-language broadcaster, has signed a five-year contract for Portable People Meter radio ratings services. The agreement covers 16 Spanish-language radio stations in Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.

Company earnings reports

In the third quarter ended September 30, 2007, Germany-based GfK exceeded the results achieved in the prior year. Organic sales growth in the first nine months of 2007 stood at 5.5 percent. Overall, sales rose by 4.2 percent to EUR 833.9 million. The development in sales at the GfK Group was adversely affected by negative currency effects in the amount of 1.9 percent. Adjusted operating income increased to EUR 102.5 million. At 12.3 percent, the margin came close to the prior year’s high figure of 12.5 percent. There was a disproportionately high increase in EBIT of 7 percent to EUR 90.3 million. Consolidated total income rose by 12.7 percent to EUR 51.2 million. The cash flow from operating activity showed a year-on-year increase of 34.3 percent to EUR 111.9 million, already exceeding the figure for the whole of 2006.

Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., released financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2008, which ended September 30, 2007. Comparative results are for continuing operations only and exclude the firm’s rent and recruit business, which was sold in August 2007.
Driven by contributions from recent acquisitions in Germany, Canada and Asia, fiscal first quarter revenue was up 17 percent. Consolidated pro forma organic revenue was up 4 percent, led by a 6 percent organic revenue increase in the United States.

Fiscal first-quarter operating income was $1.6 million, up 58 percent when compared with operating income of $1 million last year. Net income for the quarter was $1.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, up 23 percent when compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2007.
Bookings, including $6.2 million of bookings contributed by recent acquisitions, were $50.8 million, up 18 percent when compared with $42.9 million of bookings for the same period a year ago. Organic bookings grew 4 percent in the quarter.

Paris-based Ipsos reported revenues for the first nine months of 2007 of EUR 664.2 million. That figure reflects: organic growth of 9.2 percent in the first nine months and 7.5 percent in the third quarter; a consolidation effect of 2.5 percent; and a negative currency effect of 3.4 percent due to the decline in the U.S. dollar and other currencies against the euro.

The Nielsen Company B.V. announced its financial results for the third quarter and the nine months ended September 30, 2007. Reported revenues for the third quarter were $1,188 million, an increase of 11 percent over revenues for third quarter 2006 of $1,070 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, and the deferred revenue adjustment in 2006, third-quarter revenues increased 7 percent. Reported revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 were $3,429 million, up 11 percent over the pro forma revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 of $3,089 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, and the deferred revenue adjustment in 2006, revenues for the nine months increased 6 percent.

Reported operating income for the third quarter of 2007 was $77 million compared to pro forma operating income of $90 million in the third quarter 2006. The third-quarter 2007 results were negatively impacted by $79 million in restructuring costs. The third-quarter 2006 pro forma results were impacted by $43 million in compensation agreements and recruiting expenses for certain corporate executives, and $11 million from the deferred revenue adjustment.

For the first nine months of 2007 reported operating income was $233 million compared to pro forma operating income for the first nine months of 2006 of $196 million. The nine-month 2007 results were negatively impacted by $134 million in restructuring charges and $16 million in connection with compensation agreements and recruiting expenses for certain corporate executives. The nine-month pro forma 2006 operating income of $196 million was impacted by $74 million from the deferred revenue adjustment and $43 million in compensation agreements and recruiting expenses for certain corporate executives.

For the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2007, Chicago-based SPSS Inc. reported record third-quarter revenues of $72.3 million, a 12 percent increase from $64.7 million in the third quarter of 2006. New license revenues were $34.5 million, up 15 percent from $30 million in the third quarter of 2006. Operating income increased 29 percent to $12.5 million, or 17 percent of total revenues, from $9.6 million, or 15 percent of total revenues, in the third quarter of 2006. Reported operating income for the third quarter of 2007 includes $1.2 million in charges related to previously announced R&D facility closures and consolidation.

Diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the 2007 third quarter were a record $0.41, compared to $0.28 for the same period last year. These results included charges for share-based compensation of $1 million and $1.9 million in the third quarter of 2007 and 2006, respectively.
Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 totaled $211.4 million, an 11 percent increase from $190.4 million in the same period last year. New license revenues were $101.8 million, up 14 percent from $89.2 million in the 2006 nine-month period. Operating income increased 54 percent to $34.8 million, or 16 percent of total revenues, from $22.6 million, or 12 percent of total revenues, for the same period in 2006. Operating income in 2007 includes charges of $1.9 million for restructuring and R&D facility closures. Charges for share-based compensation were $5.5 million and $5 million in the first nine months of 2007 and 2006, respectively. EPS for the 2007 nine-month period was $1.16, compared to $0.63 for the same period in 2006. The effective income tax rate for the 2007 nine-month period was 39 percent, compared with a 37 percent effective tax rate in the same period last year.

Cash at September 30, 2007 was $297.1 million, up from $140.2 million on December 31, 2006. Cash flow from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 totaled $51.5 million compared with $26 million for the same period last year.

At Wilton, Conn.-based Greenfield Online Inc., financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007 showed total net revenue of $32.3 million for the third quarter of 2007 as compared with $24.9 million for the same period in the prior year for an increase of $7.4 million or 29.9 percent of which approximately $1 million or 4.2 percent was due to currency effects.

For the Internet survey solutions segments, total third-party net revenue was $24.1 million for the third quarter of 2007, as compared with $19.8 million for the same period in the prior year for an increase of 22 percent.

For the comparison shopping segment, total third-party net revenue was $8.2 million for the third quarter of 2007, as compared with $5.1 million for the same period in the prior year for an increase of 60.7 percent.

Total gross profit was $23.7 million or 73.3 percent of revenues for the third quarter of 2007, as compared with $18.9 million or 76 percent of revenues for the same period in the prior year and $22.6 million or 73.2 percent of revenues for the second quarter of 2007.
Operating income was $4.7 million for the third quarter of 2007 or 14.5 percent of revenue, as compared to operating income of $2.5 million or 10 percent of revenues for the same period in the prior year.

Net income for the third quarter of 2007 was $3.3 million as compared with net income of $1.8 million for the same period in the prior year.

Net cash flow provided by operating activities was $3.4 million for the third quarter of 2007 as compared to $5.8 million for the same period in the prior year.

For the third quarter of 2007, non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $8.5 million or 26.3 percent of revenue, as compared to non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA, excluding restructuring and one-time charges, of $6.7 million, or 27.1 percent of revenue for the same period in the prior year.

In results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007, National Research Corporation, Lincoln, Neb., reported a quarterly revenue increase of 5 percent; a quarterly net income increase of 7 percent; quarterly diluted earnings per share of $0.36; and quarterly net new contracts of $2.5 million.

Revenue for the quarter was $14 million, compared to $13.3 million for the same period in 2006. Net income for the quarter was $2.5 million, or $0.36 per basic and diluted earnings per share, compared with net income of $2.3 million, or $0.34 per basic and diluted earnings per share, in the prior year period.

Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, increased 14 percent to $38.1 million, compared to $33.5 million for the same period in 2006. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, increased 17 percent to $5.7 million, resulting in $0.84 per basic and $0.82 per diluted earnings per share, up 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively, over the same period in 2006.

Keynote Systems, San Mateo, Calif., announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year-end ended September 30, 2007. Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 was $17.8 million, a 3 percent increase compared to the preceding quarter and a 17 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2006. Net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007, which included a $2.8 million charge for deferred tax asset adjustment, $1 million in stock-based compensation expenses, and a $717,000 charge for amortization of intangible assets required under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), was $3.5 million, or $0.19 per share. This compared to net loss of $1.5 million, or ($0.09) per share, for the preceding quarter, and net loss of $6 million, or ($0.35) per share, for the fourth quarter a year ago.

The non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $2.2 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $1.3 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, for the preceding quarter, and non-GAAP net loss of $797,000, or $0.05 per share, for the fourth quarter a year ago. The company defines non-GAAP net income or loss as net income or loss adjusted for provision for income tax, stock-based compensation expense, and amortization of purchased intangibles less cash tax expense. Non-GAAP net income per share equals non-GAAP net income divided by the weighted diluted share count as of the period end. Non-GAAP net loss per share equals non-GAAP net loss divided by the weighted basic share count as of the period end.

Revenue for fiscal year 2007 was $67.8 million, a 22 percent increase compared to revenue of $55.5 million for fiscal year 2006. Net loss for fiscal year 2007 was $4.7 million, or $0.27 per share, which included a $2.8 million charge for deferred tax asset adjustment, $4.1 million in stock-based compensation expenses and a $2.9 million charge for the amortization of intangible assets. This compares to net loss of $7.5 million, or $0.41 per share, for fiscal year 2006, which included a $3.9 million charge for the adjustment of the income tax benefit associated with the partial recognition of net deferred tax assets, $3.7 million in stock-based compensation expenses, a $2.4 million charge for the amortization of intangible assets, and a $840,000 charge for in-process research and development associated with the SIGOS acquisition. The non-GAAP net income for the fiscal year 2007 was $5.4 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $2 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the fiscal year 2006.