News notes
Brandweek reported in May that Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble have launched Prism, an effort to gauge the effectiveness of in-store marketing using infrared sensors around a store to measure traffic and consumer exposure to product displays and other marketing materials like banners and store TV networks. It is organized by Nielsen In-Store.
In addition to Wal-Mart, the devices will be put into 150 different retail outlets - including convenience and grocery stores - by the time of the project’s full launch in early 2008. Although the study is currently only being rolled out in the U.S., it will be in place internationally within a couple of years. The consortium funding Prism also includes Albertsons, Kroger, Walgreens, 3M, Walt Disney, Coca-Cola, Kellogg and Miller Brewing.
Wal-Mart has contributed sales information from 1,000 of its stores to the study - a tenfold increase over the amount of data the company had ever previously released. Another key part of the study is measuring the difference between what companies plan to have displayed in stores and what actually winds up being displayed.
New York-based NetRatings Inc. announced in mid-May that it would move forward in the Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation process of its Internet audience measurement methods. Having completed a pre-audit, NetRatings commenced the full accreditation process, specifically for its patented metering and page-tagging technologies, while continuing to execute on the already-existing MRC research plan for its panel procedures.
Acquisitions/transactions
Research software firms Confirmit (based in Norway) and Pulse Train (based in the U.K.) will combine their two companies.
San Rafael, Calif., consulting firm MCorp. has acquired research firm Touchpoint Metrics.
Paris-based Ipsos has entered into an agreement to acquire Turkish firm KMG Research. Ipsos will acquire 51 percent of the share capital of the company with an option to acquire the remaining shares in the future.
Rockville, Md.-based research information firm MarketResearch.com has acquired the Thomson Business Intelligence Profound market research service.
The Nielsen Company and BuzzMetrics announced that Nielsen and the other stockholders of BuzzMetrics have agreed in principle to a transaction under which Nielsen, which already owns approximately 58 percent of BuzzMetrics, would acquire the remaining BuzzMetrics shares it does not currently own. Financial terms were not disclosed. Earlier this year, Nielsen announced it had entered into a merger agreement with NetRatings Inc. under which Nielsen, which already owns approximately 60 percent of NetRatings, would acquire the NetRatings shares it does not currently own. That transaction, subject to NetRatings stockholder approval, is expected to be completed in the second or third quarter of this year. Upon completion of the BuzzMetrics and NetRatings transactions, Nielsen’s Internet information services - which are marketed as Nielsen//NetRatings and Nielsen BuzzMetrics - will be consolidated into a single service unit. The new service will be led by Itzhak Fisher, executive chairman of BuzzMetrics.
New York-based research firm TNS has acquired the financial services research practice of Abt Associates in the United States.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Westlake Village, Calif.-based J.D. Power and Associates has formed a collaboration with Mediamark Research Inc., New York, to jointly develop a pair of supplements to its media studies. The J.D. Power and Associates-MRI products are designed to offer auto marketers, their agencies and publishers psychographic data on new-vehicle buyers. These data were previously unavailable for this segment of the population.
Association/organization news
Colleen Moore-Mezler, president of Moore Research Services Inc., Erie, Pa., has been named president of the Marketing Research Association.
Awards/rankings
Omaha, Neb.-based research firm the MSR Group’s proprietary customer advocacy measurement tool, the APECS Performance Monitor, won a Pinnacle Award from the American Marketing Association for its application with THE MAIDS Home Services franchise system. APECS has been applied within the franchise system to gain objective input on the quality of service, customer support and overall satisfaction, directly from customers.
India-based market research and analytics firm Cross-Tab Marketing Services ranked among the top 100 global outsourcing companies in a ranking by Fortune magazine and the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals. The rankings appeared in a special advertising feature in the Fortune 500 issue of the magazine.
Dallas-based eRewards Inc. has been recognized as a Laureate by IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program. The designation acknowledges those individuals and organizations that have used information technology to benefit society. Each year, members of the Chairmen’s Committee, a group of 100 Chairman/ CEOs of global technology companies, nominate individuals and organizations around the world whose applications of information technology promote positive social and economic progress.
Independent of the Laureate recognition, the Computerworld Honors Program also annually presents its Leadership Awards, which are designed to honor the achievements of selected individuals whose contributions to IT have left a mark on the world.
Research company Smith-Dahmer Associates LLC was recently recognized as one of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch at an awards program sponsored by the Edward Lowe Foundation. Smith-Dahmer Associates LLC has offices in St. Joseph, Mich., and in Minneapolis. The Edward Lowe Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation based in Michigan whose mission is to “champion the entrepreneurial spirit” by encouraging entrepreneurial cultures in communities throughout the country and helping second-stage companies learn from each other.
Wilton, Conn.-based Greenfield Online Inc. was ranked No. 1 in customer satisfaction among a universe of 25 market research suppliers according to a survey conducted by MarketResearchCareers.com in March 2007.
New accounts/projects
San Antonio, Texas, consulting firm Frost & Sullivan has selected the Net-MR Web survey software of Global Market Insite Inc., Seattle, to manage market research, focus groups, discussion boards, panels and create reporting portals.
U.K. travel loyalty program Airmiles and Norway-based research software firm Confirmit announced the successful implementation of Confirmit into the Airmiles online customer research survey.
Separately, Confirmit announced that Comperio Research has licensed the Confirmit MR platform for its multimode market research activities.
Dulles, Va., research firm Vovici announced that BAE Systems, a U.K.-based defense and aerospace company, has integrated Vovici tools and processes into help-desk operations, business intelligence processes and existing infrastructure. BAE Systems is upgrading its existing feedback management solution to EFM Community, Vovici’s Web-based community management product.
New companies/new divisions/ relocations/expansions
Germany-based research firm Globalpark has opened an office in New York and tapped Dan Coates to preside over the firm’s U.S. expansion.
Company earnings reports
Norway-based Confirmit increased revenue in the first quarter of 2007 by 35 percent to $6.5 million. EBIT margin for the first quarter of 2007 increased to 9 percent compared to 7 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2006.
Revenue in the first quarter of 2007 amounted to $6.483 million, up 35 percent from $4.806 million in the first quarter of 2006. Both geographic segments contributed to the revenue growth in the first quarter: EMEA 44 percent, North America 24 percent. Revenue from licenses and transactions in the first quarter of 2007 increased by 35 percent and represented 92 percent of the first-quarter revenue. Operating results (EBIT) for the first quarter of 2007 were $605,000 compared to $334,000 in the corresponding quarter of 2006. The first-quarter results represent an EBIT margin of 9 percent compared to an EBIT margin of 7 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2006. Profit before tax for the first quarter was $682,000 compared to $308,000 in the corresponding quarter of 2006.
Total assets were $27.1 million at the end of first quarter 2007. Fixed assets represented $7.9 million, of which intangible assets accounted for $4.8 million, and deferred income tax assets were $2.3 million. Total current assets were $19.2 million. Cash and cash equivalents were $10.9 million, due to positive cash flow from operations of $1.2 million. Total equity at the end of the first quarter was $21.5 million representing an equity ratio of 80 percent.
Germany-based GfK Group reported a first-quarter 2007 sales increase of 5.2 percent to EUR 261.3 million, with organic growth of 6.8 percent. Adjusted operating income increased by 17.3 percent to EUR 24.8 million. At 9.5 percent, the margin representing the ratio of adjusted operating income to sales was higher than the figure for the same period in the prior year of 8.5 percent. As of the end of April, GfK had already recorded a high proportion of its target sales for 2007, with 60.6 percent of sales already posted or included under existing orders. This represents an increase of 58.3 percent on the prior year’s level.
Paris-based Ipsos generated revenues of EUR 204.7 million in the first quarter of 2007, up 8.9 percent compared to the same period in 2006. Organic growth was 10.3 percent, the strongest Q1 revenue organic growth since Ipsos’ IPO in 1999. Currency fluctuations had a negative impact of 4.5 percent due to an average exchange rate of $1.3103 for EUR 1, compared to an average rate of $1.2017 in Q1 2006.
Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., announced results for its third fiscal quarter of 2007, which ended March 31, 2007. Revenue for the third quarter was $52.6 million, up 1 percent from the $52.2 million reported for the same period a year ago. U.S. revenue was $41 million, down 3 percent from the $42.4 million of revenue reported a year ago. European revenue, including $1.2 million of favorable foreign exchange rate differences, was $11.5 million, up 17 percent from the $9.8 million of revenue reported for the third fiscal quarter of 2006.
“The $9 million of sales bookings that didn’t occur in the quarter negatively affected Q3 revenue, and will affect Q4 revenue as well,” said Ronald E. Salluzzo, CFO of Harris Interactive, in a press release. “Uncertainty in the pharmaceutical industry continues to affect our pharma-centric health care research team. While we are now seeing success in selling a wider range of services into our existing clients, and moving into new market areas such as medical devices and managed care, it was not enough to offset the declines in this, our historically strongest research team,” said Salluzzo.
Global Internet revenue for the third fiscal quarter was $30.9 million, down slightly from the $31.2 million of Internet revenue reported for the same period a year ago. U.S. fiscal third-quarter Internet revenue was $27.5 million, down 2 percent when compared to $28 million of Internet revenue in the fiscal third quarter of 2006. European Internet revenue was $3.5 million, up 10 percent from the $3.2 million of Internet revenue reported for the same period last year. Internet revenue comprised 59 percent of total revenue, 67 percent of the U.S. revenue and 30 percent of the European revenue for the third fiscal quarter of 2007, versus 60 percent, 66 percent and 32 percent respectively for the same period last year.
Operating income for the third quarter, which included approximately $0.6 million in costs relating to an uncompleted acquisition, was $1.5 million, or 2.8 percent of revenue, down 64 percent when compared to operating income of $4.1 million, or 7.9 percent of revenue, for the same period a year ago.
Net income for the third quarter was $1.2 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, down 54 percent when compared with net income of $2.5 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago.
Sales bookings for the third quarter were $58.6 million, down approximately 12 percent from the $66.3 million of sales bookings reported a year ago.
Revenue for the first nine months of fiscal 2007, which ended on March 31, 2007, was $157.1 million, up slightly from the $156 million of revenue reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2006. U.S. revenue for the nine-month period was $120.9 million, down 2 percent from the $123.2 million of revenue reported for the same period a year ago. European revenue, including $3 million of favorable foreign exchange rate differences, was $36.3 million, up 11 percent when compared to $32.8 million of revenue reported for the same period a year ago.
Global Internet revenue for the first nine months of fiscal 2007 was $92.3 million, up 1 percent from Internet revenue of $91.5 million reported for the same period a year ago. U.S. Internet revenue was $80.3 million, down 2 percent when compared to the $82 million reported last year. European Internet revenue for the period was $12 million, up 26 percent from the $9.5 million of Internet revenue reported for the same period a year ago. For the nine-month period, Internet revenue comprised 59 percent of total revenue, 66 percent of the U.S. revenue and 33 percent of the European revenue, versus 59 percent, 67 percent and 29 percent respectively last year.
Operating income for the first nine months was $8.3 million, or 5.3 percent of revenue, down 18 percent when compared to operating income of $10.1 million, or 6.5 percent of revenue for the same period a year ago.
Net income for the first nine months was $5.7 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, down 7 percent when compared with net income of $6.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, reported for the first nine months of fiscal 2006.
In financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2007, Keynote Systems, San Mateo, Calif., reported revenues of $16.7 million, an increase of 6 percent compared to the preceding quarter and a 31 percent increase compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2006. Net income for the second quarter of fiscal year 2007, which included $1 million in stock-based compensation expenses, a $193,000 income tax benefit, and a $760,000 charge for amortization of intangible assets required under GAAP, was $30,000, or $0.00 per diluted share. This compared to net income of $264,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the preceding quarter, and net loss of $154,000, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter a year ago.
The non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $1.4 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $551,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the preceding quarter, and non-GAAP net income of $1.5 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the second quarter a year ago. The company defines non-GAAP net income or loss as net income or loss adjusted for provision for income taxes, less cash tax expense, stock-based compensation expense, and amortization of purchased intangibles. Non-GAAP net income per share equals non-GAAP net income divided by the weighted diluted share count as of that period end.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, SPSS Inc., Chicago, reported total revenues of $70.2 million, a 13 percent increase from $62.2 million in the 2006 first quarter, with diluted earnings per share of $0.39, compared to $0.24 in the prior year first quarter. New license revenues were $35 million, up 17 percent from $29.9 million in the 2006 first quarter. Operating income increased to $12.1 million, or 17 percent of revenues, from $7 million, or 11 percent of revenues, in the same quarter last year. Charges for share-based compensation were $0.06 and $0.03 in the first quarters of 2007 and 2006, respectively.
At March 31, 2007, cash totaled $256.1 million, including proceeds from the company’s recent convertible debt offering less cash used for a concurrent share repurchase. Cash provided by operating activities in the quarter was $21.3 million, up from $8.1 million for the same period in 2006.
In results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, National Research Corporation, Lincoln, Neb., reported that quarterly revenues increased by 29 percent, quarterly net income increased by 31 percent, quarterly earnings per share of $0.23, up 28 percent, and quarterly net new contracts reached a record $4.1 million.
Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, were $12.2 million, compared to $9.5 million for the same period in 2006, an increase of 29 percent. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, was $1.6 million, or $0.23 per basic and diluted share, compared with net income of $1.2 million, or $0.18 per basic and diluted share, in the prior year period.