News notes
Dulles, Va.-based Perseus| WebSurveyor has completed a rebranding effort and renamed the combined company Vovici (voh-VEE-see).
ComScore Inc., Reston, Va., announced in early April that it had filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The offered shares will be sold by comScore and certain of its stockholders.
Wilton, Conn., research firm Greenfield Online Inc. announced that it would donate $10,000 of the revenue generated through surveys executed via its Real-Time Sampling capability and survey sampling services to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to support breast cancer research.
Acquisitions/transactions
Costa Mesa, Calif., information firm Experian has acquired Hitwise, a New York Internet marketing intelligence company. The purchase price is approximately $240 million and will be funded from Experian’s existing cash resources. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Separately, Experian announced it has acquired a minority stake in Sinotrust, a China-based business information and market research company.
Short Hills, N.J.-based information firm D&B has acquired First Research for $22.5 million, with an earn-out potential of up to $4 million based on financial performance. The acquisition was funded with cash on hand. First Research, based in Raleigh, N.C., provides editorial-based industry insight for sales professionals.
Nordic research firm Zapera has made an agreement with the shareholders of Norway-based research company Receptor Markedsanalyse AS to acquire the company.
Chicago-based Research International has acquired Teenage Research Unlimited, Northbrook, Ill.
Lightspeed Research, Basking Ridge, N.J., has acquired Foresight International Inc., a Lake Zurich, Ill., employee satisfaction research firm.
Charlottesville, Va., business intelligence firm SNL Financial has acquired media research and analysis firm Kagan Research, based in Monterey, Calif.
Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., has acquired MediaTransfer AG Netresearch & Consulting, a private European online research firm based in Hamburg, Germany. Harris Interactive paid EUR 9 million in the all-cash deal for the firm, which has excess net working capital of approximately EUR 1 million and no debt. The MediaTransfer employees will join the Harris Interactive Europe organization and remain in their current location.
Market Force Information Inc., Boulder, Colo., has acquired Houston-based Speedmark Information Services, a mystery shopping provider.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Greenfield Online Inc., Wilton, Conn., has formed a relationship with consulting firm Frost & Sullivan to create a new business-to-business offering to serve the marketing research industry. Under the new agreement, the firms will recruit panelists to participate in marketing research surveys. In return for participating in surveys, respondents will receive various incentives, including a temporary free access pass to www.frost.com.
Synovate has entered a worldwide partnership with Seattle-based Global Market Insite Inc. which gives Synovate access to over six million panelists around the world. Combined with its existing ViewsNet panels, this partnership now enables Synovate to offer panel research in more than 50 markets.
Association/organization news
The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR), Washington, D.C., is calling on all survey research professionals to join the State Capitol Network, a new volunteer committee created to monitor and respond to state legislative issues affecting the survey research profession.
CMOR is searching for representatives on the state level to help effectively protect the survey research profession. Representatives would be the profession’s observer for their state(s) and serve on behalf of the profession when any issues arise in their state legislature.
While CMOR already has mechanisms to monitor such activity, this new network will supplement CMOR’s efforts in order to remain proactive and be as alert as possible on all issues. CMOR staff will provide training to volunteers of the State Capitol Network to speak to congressional staff on behalf of the survey research profession.
State Capitol Network volunteers would monitor issues related to survey research, which include: general business practice for the survey research profession, marketing and opinion research, including technical uses of information, health care benefits, taxes, privacy and human resource issues. Volunteers interested in joining the State Capitol Network should contact CMOR’s State Legislative Director LaToya Rembert-Lang at lrembert@cmor.org or at 202-775-5171.
Separately, CMOR and The Marketing Research Association have opened an additional office in Washington, D.C., at 1111 16th Street.
The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), Dallas, issued a press release supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) action against Mystery Shop Link and the Tangent Group. Mystery Shop Link is not and has never been affiliated with the MSPA, and the MSPA does not support the practices of which the company has been accused.
The FTC filed deceptive practices and contempt charges against Mystery Shop Link on March 22. The firm promised consumers hundreds of dollars in income for conducting mystery shopping exercises. According to the FTC, consumers were charged a $99.95 fee for training and to obtain mystery shopping job opportunities. In reality, those who paid the fee had no advantage over others interested in the same opportunities who accessed the information for free.
The MSPA has cooperated with the FTC in its investigation of Mystery Shop Link and encourages the FTC to continue investigating all mystery shopping-related scams.
The MSPA believes mystery shoppers should not have to pay to find mystery shopping assignments. The association’s member companies are required to follow a code of ethics that prohibits them from charging mystery shoppers a fee or misleading applicants on actual mystery shopping assignment opportunities.
The Marketing Research Association will celebrate 50 years of service to the opinion and marketing research profession at its annual conference in San Francisco on June 6-8.
New accounts/projects
Broadcasters in Iceland have selected New York-based Arbitron Inc.’s Portable People Meter (PPM) system as the audience measurement currency system for both radio and television. The six-year contract was awarded to the Reykjavik-based research and consulting firm Capacent, supported by TNS Norway. TNS already provides currency measurement for the radio industry in Norway using the PPM and has licensed the use of the PPM system to Capacent. TNS will support the setup and ongoing running of the audience measurement panel by Capacent. The contract with Iceland’s major TV and radio broadcasters was awarded through a competitive RFP for electronic audience measurement. The PPM technology, which was evaluated in field trial in Iceland, was selected over a “wristwatch meter” system proposed by Swiss firm Telecontrol, a GfK subsidiary.
20/20 Online, a division of 20/20 Research Inc., a Nashville-based marketing research support firm, has entered into an agreement with Delta Airlines to provide online qualitative research services, including the use of 20/20 Online’s Qualboard.
New companies/new divisions/ relocations/expansions
G & S Research has moved to 9229 Delegates Row, Suite 400, Indianapolis, Ind., 46240. Phone 317-252-4500. Fax 317-252-4510.
Reston, Va.-based comScore has expanded its London-based European headquarters and opened a marketing office in Paris.
A new firm, Demand Decisions, based in Durham, N.C., has opened to provide demand forecasting, planning and management services to retailers. The company is an independently managed subsidiary of rsc, the quality measurement company, Evansville, Ind.
Company earnings reports
In results for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, Arbitron Inc., New York, reported revenue of $91.8 million, an increase of 7.9 percent over revenue of $85.1 million during the first quarter of 2006. Contributing to the revenue growth for the quarter were equipment sales consummated in the quarter related to the company’s international Portable People Meter licensing business. Excluding the impact of these sales, revenue grew 7.1 percent.
Costs and expenses for the first quarter increased by 18 percent, from $53.7 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $63.3 million in the first quarter of 2007, due primarily to planned spending on the rollout of the Portable People Meter radio ratings service.
The proportionate share of net loss of affiliates in the first quarter of 2007 increased to ($3.8) million from ($2.4) million in the first quarter of 2006. The increase was due primarily to Arbitron’s ($1.1) million share of the net losses for the Project Apollo LLC, the joint effort to develop a national marketing research service with The Nielsen Company.
EBIT for the quarter were $24.7 million, a decrease of 15 percent over EBIT of $29 million during the comparable period last year.
Net income for the quarter was $15.5 million, a decrease of 14.8 percent from $18.2 million for the first quarter of 2006. Net income per share for the first quarter of 2007 was $0.52 (diluted), compared with $0.58 (diluted) for the comparable period last year, a decrease of 10.3 percent.
In financial results for the full year ending December 31, 2006, The Nielsen Company bv reported pro forma unaudited revenues for the full year 2006 of $4,174 million, an increase of 5 percent in constant currency over the prior year, excluding a $90 million decrease in revenues associated with the preliminary purchase price allocation (the “deferred revenue adjustment”). Reported revenues for the predecessor period (January 1, 2006 through May 23, 2006) were $1,626 million and for the successor period (May 24, 2006 through December 31, 2006) were $2,548 million, an overall increase of 3 percent versus the prior year (including the effects of the deferred revenue adjustment).
Pro forma unaudited operating income was $212 million for the full year 2006 compared to $373 million in 2005. The 2006 pro forma results were negatively impacted by a number of acquisition-related items including the $90 million deferred revenue adjustment, $75 million in restructuring expenses, $98 million in increased amortization expense and $53 million in costs associated with recruiting and other acquisition-related compensation. Operating income for 2005 was impacted by $91 million in litigation settlement costs and failed acquisition costs. Reported operating income for the predecessor period and successor period was $57 million and $109 million, respectively.
Covenant earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and other adjustments permitted under the firm’s senior credit facility (covenant EBITDA) was $1,097 million for the full year 2006. Covenant EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure.
During the first quarter of 2007, Omaha, Neb.-based infoUSA delivered record revenues of $157.9 million, which includes $48.1 million for Opinion Research. (The firm’s marketing research group is composed of Opinion Research and Macro International.) Segment revenue for the marketing research group in the first quarter was $48.1 million. Excluding Opinion Research, revenue was $109.8 million for the first quarter of 2007, compared to $103.1 million for the same period in 2006, an increase of 6 percent. InfoUSA’s first-quarter operating income was $14.8 million, which includes $1.6 million for Opinion Research. Excluding Opinion Research, operating income was $13.2 million, compared to $15.5 million in the first quarter of 2006. During the first quarter of 2007 the company spent $4.6 million for advertisements for the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament. The company also recorded expenses of $2.1 million related to the transition of infoUSA National Accounts to Omaha.
InfoUSA’s earnings per share for the first quarter of 2007 were $0.11 versus $0.15 in the first quarter of 2006. EBITDA for the first quarter was $24 million, which includes $3.2 million for Opinion Research. Excluding Opinion Research, EBITDA was $20.8 million, compared to $23 million in the first quarter of 2006.
IMS Health, Norwalk, Conn., announced first-quarter 2007 revenue of $510.3 million, up 14 percent or 11 percent on a constant-dollar basis, compared with revenue of $446.2 million for the first quarter of 2006. Operating income in the first quarter of 2007 was $111.1 million, up 15 percent, compared with $96.7 million in the year-earlier period.
First-quarter 2007 diluted earnings per share on a GAAP basis was $0.43, compared with $0.56 in the prior-year quarter. Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2007 and 2006 included tax benefits and foreign exchange hedge gains and losses. When adjusted for these items, on a non-GAAP basis, earnings per share for this year’s first quarter would have grown $0.04 year over year to $0.35.
Net income on a GAAP basis was $85.6 million, compared with $118.1 million in the year-earlier quarter. This decline is primarily due to higher tax benefits realized in the first quarter of 2006. Net income for the first quarter of 2007 and 2006 included tax benefits and foreign exchange hedge gains and losses, net of taxes. Adjusted for these items, on a non-GAAP basis, net income for this year’s first quarter would have grown $5.3 million.