Equifax Reports Inline Result

Equifax's (EFX - Analyst Report) third-quarter 2009 earnings exceeded the Zacks Consensus EPS by 2 cents, and its revenue was almost in line with the expectation of $453.0 million.

Revenue

Revenue for the quarter was $451.9 million, down 7.0% from $484.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Approximately 3.0% of the decline was due to the unfavorable effect of foreign exchange rates. There was significant revenue decline across all geographic regions, namely Latin American, European, and Canadian Consumer businesses.

Segment-wise, North American Commercial Solutions contributed $16.1 million, down 4.0% year-over-year. North American Personal Solutions contributed $37.1 million, down 9.0% year-over-year. International (including Europe, Canada and Latin America) contributed $114. million, down 13.0% year-over-year. Of this Europe declined 19.0%, Latin America slipped 12.0% and the Canadian consumer segment declined 8.0%, in US dollar terms. Even U.S. Consumer Information Solutions, which contributed $200.7 million, was down 9.0% year-over-year.

TALX segment, which generated $83.1 million, was the only segment that grew, increasing 13.0% year over year. TALX revenue increased as a result of advances in revenue at its sub segments, Work Number revenue and Tax & Talent Management Services revenue.

Operating Results

On a GAAP basis, gross margin was 63.5% versus 59.3% in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin declined due to lower business volume. Operating margin was 23.5% versus 22.1% in the year-ago quarter. The effective income tax rate was 33.5% for the reported quarter, versus 19.6% for the same period in 2008.

GAAP net income for the quarter was $59.7 million, or $0.47 per share, versus net income of $72.3 million, or $0.56 per share, in the same quarter last year. Excluding the impact of acquisition-related amortization expense, non-GAAP EPS was $0.57, compared to $0.63 in the third quarter of 2008. This was in line with the management guidance range of $0.55 to $0.60.

Balance Sheet and Guidance

The company exited the quarter with $77.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, up $14.1 million sequentially and $740.4 million in long-term debt, down $50.9 million sequentially. Equifax provided an adjusted EPS guidance range of $0.53 to $0.58 for the fourth quarter, although the company did not provide a revenue guidance.