Interim Results

21st Nov 2006 07:03

Experian Group Limited21 November 2006 21 November 2006 Experian Group Limited Interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Highlights for Experian • Demerger and £800m equity issue successfully completed in October 2006 • Strong first half performance • solid organic growth in all three regions • EBIT margin increased in all four principal activities • further contract wins by product, business and region • acquisitions on track • Sales from continuing activities up 17% at constant exchange rates to $1.6bn, with 7% organic growth (total sales $1.7bn, up 14%) • EBIT from continuing activities up 16% at constant exchange rates to $388m, giving 21.9% margin excluding FARES (up 90bp) • PBT of $202m • Pro forma net debt of $1.6bn after net proceeds of equity issue • Interim dividend of 5.5 cents per share John Peace, Chairman of Experian, said: "We are delighted that the demerger and equity issue were successfully completedin October. Experian operates in many growth markets, has a global leadershipposition and a clear strategy to capitalise on the opportunities available to itaround the world." Commenting on the performance of Experian, Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer,said: "Experian made good strategic and operational progress in the first half of theyear, executing well against our plans. Looking forward, while we face specificchallenges in some of our markets, we are on track for the full year and remainconfident in our ability to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders." Overview of structure of financial information On 10 October 2006, the separation of Experian Group Limited (Experian) and HomeRetail Group was completed by way of demerger. As part of the demerger, ExperianGroup Limited became the ultimate holding company of GUS plc and relatedsubsidiaries and shares in GUS plc ceased to be listed on the London StockExchange on 6 October 2006. Experian Group Limited was incorporated andregistered on 30 June 2006 under the Jersey Companies Law as a public companylimited by shares. Trading in shares in Experian on the London Stock Exchange'smarket for listed securities commenced on 11 October 2006. As a result of the demerger, there are two sets of financial informationpresented in this interim results announcement. The commentary on the followingpages relates to Part One. Part One: Unaudited financial information for Experian In order to demonstrate the historical results of Experian, unaudited financialinformation for Experian is set out in Part One. This has been prepared on abasis consistent with the Experian information included in its prospectus dated14 September 2006. As previously indicated, this information is presented in USdollars. This extracted financial information may not be representative of futureresults. The historical capital structure does not reflect the future capitalstructure. Future interest income and expense, certain operating expenses, taxcharges and dividends may be significantly different from those that resultedfrom Experian being wholly owned by GUS plc. Part Two: Unaudited financial information for GUS plc To comply with listing requirements, consolidated financial information inrespect of GUS plc and its subsidiaries, including Experian and Home RetailGroup, is set out in Part Two. This financial information is reported insterling as that was the reporting currency of GUS plc throughout the periodpresented. The financial information included in Part Two in respect of the year ended 31March 2006 will form the basis of the comparative information for inclusion inthe first Annual Report of Experian Group Limited which will be published inJune 2007. For the purpose of that document, the information will bere-presented in US dollars. See Appendix 2 for definition of non-GAAP measures used throughout thisannouncement and Appendix 3 for reconciliation of sales and EBIT by geography Enquiries Experian Don RobertChief Executive Officer 020 7495 0070 Paul BrooksChief Financial Officer Fay DoddsDirector of Investor Relations Finsbury Rollo Head 020 7251 3801James Wyatt-Tilby There will be a presentation today at 10.30am to analysts and investors at theKing Edward Hall, Merrill Lynch Financial Centre, 2 King Edward Street, London,EC1A 1HQ. The presentation can be viewed live on the Experian website atwww.experiangroup.com and can also be accessed live via a dial-in facility on 44(0)20 8322 2180. The supporting slides and an indexed replay will also beavailable on the website later in the day. There will be a conference call to discuss the results at 3.00pm today with arecording available later on the website. All relevant Experian announcementsare also available on www.experiangroup.com. Experian will issue its Third Quarter Trading Update on 10 January 2007. ItsPreliminary Results for the year to 31 March 2007 will be announced on 23 May2007. Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking statements.Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to a number ofrisks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differmaterially from any expected future events or results referred to in theseforward looking statements. CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW Successfully completed demerger and £800m equity issue On 11 October 2006, trading started in shares in Experian on the London StockExchange, following the demerger from GUS plc. At the same time, Experian raised£800m of new equity from existing and new shareholders, allowing it to startlife as an independent company with sufficient flexibility to fund future growthopportunities. Good strategic and operational progress in the first half Experian has a clear strategy to capitalise on the growth opportunitiesavailable to it. We aim to drive organic growth (through deeper clientrelationships, geographic and vertical expansion and product innovation);accelerate this organic growth through complementary acquisitions; and deliveroperational leverage to maintain or improve margins. We executed well against our plans in the first half: • each of our three regions (Americas, UK and Ireland and EMEA/Asia Pacific) has delivered organic growth in the range of 6-8%, despite some challenging market conditions; • EBIT margin has increased in each of our four principal activities (Credit Services, Decision Analytics, Marketing Solutions and Interactive); • we have won a number of major new contracts with existing clients, including Bank of America, BSkyB and EDF; • we have strengthened our position outside the US and UK, with client wins in several countries including Japan, Taiwan, China and Russia; • we have seen further growth outside the traditional financial services sector, especially in telecommunications and government, as well as in our Interactive division, which connects consumers to clients over the Internet; • we have introduced new products in response to clients' needs, including the VantageScore in the US, insolvency scorecards in the UK and Fusion from ClarityBlue; and • acquisitions continue to perform well. As previously disclosed, the acquisitions made in the three years to March 2005 together delivered double-digit post-tax returns in the year to March 2006. Our more recent acquisitions are together trading to plan and are on track to meet our investment hurdle rates of a post-tax double-digit return on investment over time. Continued investment in business As well as further investment through the income statement in people, productsand infrastructure, we have continued to invest through capital expenditure andacquisition. Capital expenditure in the first half was $118m, with about $250 -$270m expected for the full year. Of this, about $20m relates to an acceleratedtechnology spend on data centre consolidation in the US. Acquisition spend inthe first half was $80m. Experian has acquired credit bureaux in both Canada andEstonia (the latter in October 2006), as well as Eiger Systems, a bank accountvalidation software company which complements the address validation activitiesof QAS. Interim dividend of 5.5 cents announced The Board of Experian has confirmed that its dividend policy is to have a cover(based on Benchmark EPS) of at least three times on an annual basis. Consistentwith this, the Board has announced an interim dividend of 5.5 cents per share.PART ONE: UNAUDITED FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR EXPERIAN The following analysis refers to the unaudited financial information for theExperian group of companies. This extracted financial information may not berepresentative of future results. The historical capital structure does notreflect the future capital structure. Future interest income and expense,certain operating expenses, tax charges and dividends may be significantlydifferent from those that resulted from Experian being wholly owned by GUS plc. Sales from continuing activities up 17% at constant exchange rates to $1.6bn, 7%organic growth. Total sales $1.7bn EBIT from continuing activities up 16% at constant exchange rates to $388m,reflecting margin expansion in all four principal activities partly offset bythe anticipated decline in FARES Benchmark PBT of $391m, distorted by the pre-demerger central costs and capitalstructure and impacted by discontinuing activities. Profit before taxation of$202m Effective tax rate of 23.0% based on Benchmark PBT, in line with ourexpectations for the full year +------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+| | Sales | Profit |+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Six months to 30 September | 2006| 2005| 2006| 2005|| | | | | || | $m| $m| $m| $m|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Americas | 965| 813| 270| 229|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|UK and Ireland | 401| 326| 110| 90|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|EMEA/Asia Pacific | 271| 249| 29| 29|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Sub-total | 1,637| 1,388| 409| 348|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Central activities | -| -| (21)| (16)|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Continuing activities | 1,637| 1,388| 388| 332|| | | | | |+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | 37| 84| 8| 22|+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Total | 1,674| 1,472| 396| 354|| | | | | |+------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------+----------+|Net interest | (5)| 9|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Benchmark PBT | 391| 363|| | | |+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+| | | |+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Amortisation of acquisition intangibles | (37)| (24)|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Exceptional items | (138)| -|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Financing fair value remeasurements | (12)| 4|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Tax expense of associates | (2)| -|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Profit before taxation | 202| 343|| | | |+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Taxation | (50)| (81)|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Profit attributable to equity shareholders | 152| 262|| | | |+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Benchmark EPS (cents) | 35.1| 33.0|| | | |+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Basic EPS (cents) | 17.8| 30.8|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+|Weighted average number of ordinary shares | 855.9m| 848.4m|+----------------------------------------------------+----------+----------+ 1 Discontinuing activities include MetaReward and UK account processing See Appendix 1 for analysis of sales and EBIT by principal activity See Appendix 2 for definition of non-GAAP measures EXPERIAN AMERICAS Sales from continuing activities up 19%; 8% organic EBIT from continuing activities up 27% excluding FARES; up 17% including theanticipated decline in FARES EBIT margin excluding FARES up 180 basis points Robust performance from Credit Services given strong comparatives andchallenging market Organic sales growth of over 20% in Decision Analytics and Interactive +-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Six months to 30 September | 2006| 2005| Growth| Organic|| | | | | growth|| | $m| $m| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Sales - direct business | | | | || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|- Credit Services | 395| 379| 4%| -|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|- Decision Analytics | 38| 30| 26%| 26%|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|- Marketing Solutions | 173| 171| 1%| (2%)|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|- Interactive | 359| 233| 54%| 24%|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Total - continuing activities| 965| 813| 19%| 8%|| | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | 3| 43| na| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Total Americas | 968| 856| 13%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+| | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|EBIT | | | | || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|- Direct business | 240| 188| 27%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|- FARES | 30| 41| (27%)| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Total - continuing activities| 270| 229| 17%| || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | (7)| 5| na| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|Total Americas | 263| 234| 12%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+| | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+|EBIT margin2 | 24.9%| 23.1%| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+---------+----------+ 1 Discontinuing activities include MetaReward2 EBIT margin is for continuing direct business only and excludes FARES Operational review Experian Americas had another strong half year, despite some challenging marketsand strong comparatives. Management focused on delivering operating leverage todrive profit growth. Credit Services Includes consumer credit and business information bureaux, Baker Hill(commercial lending software) and automotive services Sales in Credit Services were up 4% in total in the first half (flatyear-on-year on an organic basis), a robust performance considering theexceptionally favourable market conditions in the first half of last year,resulting in tough comparatives (H1 2005: +18%). The impact of higher US interest rates coupled with the economic slowdown,driven by softness in the housing market, continues to affect demand for newcredit from US consumers. A slowdown in sales growth of products relating tocredit origination was offset by double-digit growth in portfolio management andcollections products and continued strength in business credit. Baker Hill,which was acquired in August 2005, continued to deliver strong double-digitgrowth with further client wins including Fifth Third Bancorp and Bank ofOklahoma. VantageScore, the new credit score jointly developed by the three UScredit bureaux, continues to win acceptance by clients. To date, about 400clients have bought this score to test its effectiveness in predicting risk. In September 2006, Experian acquired the Northern Credit Bureaus consumerdatabase in Canada. This will enable Experian, over time, to meet clients'demands for data, building on its established Decision Analytics business inthis market. Decision Analytics Includes credit analytics, decision support software and fraud solutions The performance of Decision Analytics in the first half was exceptionallystrong, with sales up 26%, as the business continued to take share in the US.This reflects improved execution in sales and delivery and the strength of ourproduct suite. During the first half, Experian further expanded its relationshipwith Bank of America to include many Experian analytical tools and softwaresolutions. These provide a common platform across all the bank's creditproducts, embedding Experian in Bank of America's lending processes. The firsthalf benefited from one-off development work associated with this contract.There was also good growth from recent initiatives with US credit cardprocessors, where Experian's account management software (ProbeSM) is now usedto process one quarter of all credit card accounts in the US. Good progress wasalso made in fraud solutions, with three of the top five US retail banks nowcommitted to using Precise ID, our new fraud detection system. Marketing Solutions Includes data and data management (consumer data, list processing and dataintegrity, database management and analytics), digital services (Cheetahmail)and research services (Simmons and Vente) Total sales in Marketing Solutions increased by 1% in the first half, with aslight decline (-2%) on an organic basis. As anticipated, there was a lowdouble-digit decline in the traditional activities of consumer data, listprocessing and database management as clients continued to move from direct mailto other channels. These traditional activities accounted for well over half ofMarketing Solutions sales in the first half. Sales in Digital Services andResearch Services together delivered organic growth in excess of 20%, driven bygrowth in their markets, new clients and new products. Building on Experian'sestablished position in the US, QAS is gaining traction (as evidenced by severalnew client wins) and ClarityBlue is seeing some early success. Interactive Includes Consumer Direct (online credit reports, scores and monitoring services)and lead generation businesses: LowerMyBills (mortgages), PriceGrabber(comparison shopping), Affiliate Fuel and ClassesUSA (online education) Sales in Interactive grew by 54% in the first half, contributing 37% of totalAmericas sales from continuing activities. Organic growth was 24%, with thebalance of 30% from acquisitions (mainly PriceGrabber). Interactive continued tobenefit from consumers' increasing use of the Internet for information andpurchase decisions. Consumer Direct continued its very strong performance as the clear leader in itsmarket. During the first half, it increased marketing spend, especially inbroadcast, which fuelled growth in the number of members. It also improvedretention rates by an increased focus on customer service. LowerMyBills, whichwas acquired in May 2005, saw a moderation in the rate of sales growth in thefirst half, held back by contraction at a major client (Ameriquest) and a moresubdued mortgage market. However, EBIT grew strongly in the period asLowerMyBills focused on more profitable marketing spend and used Experian dataand analytics to improve the quality of leads it generates for lenders. It alsocontinues to increase the number of clients it works for. PriceGrabber, whichwas acquired in December 2005, delivered excellent growth in the first half, dueto an increase in revenue from all traffic sources (co-brands, free or organicsearch and paid search) and is well positioned to benefit from the expectedgrowth in online Christmas shopping. The focus of Interactive over the last six months has been to share expertise inorder to buy and deploy advertising expenditure more effectively and convertmore visitors to leads. It is developing increasingly sophisticated tools, oftenusing Experian data and analytics, to optimise both the level and type of spendon customer acquisition - an increasingly important skill as the cost ofInternet advertising continues to increase. Financial review Sales from continuing activities were $965m, up 19% compared to the same periodlast year, with organic growth of 8%. Acquisitions, primarily in the Interactivesegment, contributed 11% to sales growth in the first half, with a lowsingle-digit contribution expected for the second half. EBIT from direct businesses was $240m (2005: $188m), an increase of 27% in theperiod, giving an EBIT margin of 24.9% (2005: 23.1%). The margin improvement wasbroadly based across all segments, while Credit Services also benefited from theimpact of last year's affiliate credit bureau acquisitions. EBIT from FARES, the 20%-owned real estate information associate, declined, asanticipated, in the period to $30m, compared to $41m last year. This wasprimarily due to the decline in US mortgage originations and the residual impactof last year's corporate restructuring at FARES. The impact of falling sales onFARES' EBIT was partly offset by further cost cutting and off-shoring of backoffice functions, as well as initiatives to exit unprofitable clientrelationships. These factors are expected to provide some support to profit inthe second half (H2 2005: $28m). EXPERIAN UK AND IRELAND Sales from continuing activities up 22%; 8% organic EBIT from continuing activities up 19% EBIT margin at 27.4%, slightly impacted by first time contribution from lowermargin ClarityBlue acquisition Credit Services showed solid organic sales growth despite a challenging UKconsumer credit environment; Decision Analytics sales up 8% Interactive sales more than trebled +----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Six months to 30 September | 2006| 2005| Growth3| Organic|| | | | | growth3|| | $m| $m| | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Sales | | | | || | | | | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Credit Services | 128| 122| 4%| 4%|+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Decision Analytics | 105| 95| 9%| 8%|+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Marketing Solutions | 154| 105| 46%| 3%|+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Interactive | 14| 4| 234%| 234%|+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total - continuing | 401| 326| 22%| 8%||activities | | | | || | | | | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | 34| 41| na| |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total UK and Ireland | 435| 367| 17%| |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+| | | | | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|EBIT - continuing activities| 110| 90| 19%| || | | | | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | 15| 17| na| |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total UK and Ireland | 125| 107| 14%| |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+| | | | | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|EBIT margin2 | 27.4%| 27.6%| | |+----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+ 1 Discontinuing activities include UK account processing2 EBIT margin for continuing activities only3 Growth at constant FX rates Operational review Experian UK and Ireland performed well in the first half, despite a difficultconsumer credit environment. This illustrates the strength of Experian'sdiversified portfolio by sector and product in this region. Credit Services Includes consumer credit and business information bureaux and automotive andinsurance services The consumer credit environment in the UK remained challenging during the firsthalf, with a further fall in the level of gross unsecured lending to consumers,a substantial increase in bad debt write-offs as reported by financial servicescompanies and a sharp rise in personal insolvencies. Against this background,sales in Credit Services increased by 4%. As expected, financial servicesclients transferred some of their spending from customer acquisition tocross-selling to existing customers, and to portfolio and risk management. Therewas also strong growth in the first half outside financial services, with marketshare gains in the telecommunications sector as an example. Decision Analytics Includes credit analytics, decision support software and fraud solutions Decision Analytics is more developed in the UK than in any other region, as ithas grown over the years alongside Credit Services. In the first half, salesincreased by 8% on an organic basis. Experian continues to sell new products toexisting clients - a good example is Vodafone UK which is now buyingoptimisation tools. There was good take-up by clients of Experian's ConsumerIndebtedness Index, which assesses a borrower's total debt levels and predictsthe likelihood of repayment. There was also particularly strong growth fromfraud solutions, especially in authentication services sold to the public sectorand from the latest generation of the Hunter application fraud detectionproduct. Product innovation continued with, for example, the launch ofinsolvency scorecards, which help lenders predict the likelihood of existingcustomers becoming insolvent. Marketing Solutions Includes data and data management (consumer data, data integrity (QAS and EigerSystems), database management (including ClarityBlue) and analytics), digitalservices (Cheetahmail) and business strategies (including Mosaic consumersegmentation, economic forecasting and Footfall) Total sales in Marketing Solutions were up 46%, with organic growth of 3%.Organic growth continues to be impacted by weakness in the UK direct mailmarket, although there was good growth in areas such as Cheetahmail and sellingMosaic into the public sector. The contribution from acquisitions was 43%, mainly ClarityBlue, a leading UKprovider of bespoke database marketing solutions, which was acquired in January2006. There is strong momentum in ClarityBlue as it sells deeper into existingclients such as BSkyB, wins new clients and launches new products, includingFusion. This product combines ClarityBlue's database technology with Experian'smarketing data to enable mid-tier clients to lower the cost of customeracquisition. There was also a contribution from the smaller acquisitions of Footfall(customer counting and retail information), Catalist (petrol station locationplanning) and Eiger Systems, which was acquired in June 2006. Eiger Systems is amarket-leading provider of bank account validation and payment processingsoftware, which complements QAS. It has demonstrated good growth in the UK withpotential for international expansion. Interactive Comprises CreditExpert (online credit reports, scores and monitoring servicessold direct to consumers) CreditExpert performed very well in the first half of the year, with sales morethan trebling in the period, albeit from a small base. The main driver has beengrowth in the number of members - almost two million credit reports have beendelivered to CreditExpert customers since the beginning of the financial year.CreditExpert in the UK has also continued to benefit from working closely withthe US. For example, it now has exclusive distribution arrangements with thefive major portals in the UK - relationships which have strengthened its marketleading positions in both the US and the UK. Financial review Total sales from continuing activities were $401m, up 22% at constant exchangerates compared to the same period last year. Organic growth was 8%. Thecontribution to sales growth from acquisitions in the first half was 14%, with abroadly similar contribution expected in the second half. EBIT from continuing activities was $110m, an increase of 19% at constantexchange rates over the same period last year. The EBIT margin was 27.4% (2005:27.6%), with the slight decline reflecting the first time inclusion ofClarityBlue, which has margins below the average for Experian UK and Ireland.Elsewhere, the margin expansion was broadly based in each of Credit Services,Decision Analytics and Interactive, mainly reflecting the operating leveragefrom organic sales growth. EXPERIAN EMEA/ASIA PACIFIC Sales up 7%; 6% organic EBIT unchanged at $29m, reflecting higher investment in Asia Pacific and phasingof French restructuring costs Excellent sales growth from Decision Analytics, especially in Southern andEastern Europe and Asia Pacific +-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|Six months to 30 September | 2006| 2005| Growth1| Organic|| | | | | growth1|| | $m| $m| | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|Sales | | | | || | | | | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|- Credit Services | 208| 200| 2%| 2%|+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|- Decision Analytics | 44| 33| 32%| 27%|+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|- Marketing Solutions | 19| 16| 14%| 3%|+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|Total | 271| 249| 7%| 6%|| | | | | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+| | | | | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|EBIT | 29| 29| -| || | | | | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+| | | | | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+|EBIT margin | 10.7%| 11.6%| | |+-------------------------------+--------+--------+---------+---------+ 1 Growth at constant FX rates Operational review Experian EMEA/Asia Pacific had another solid half year, reflecting the balancein its business between the high growth areas of Southern and Eastern Europe andAsia Pacific and the more mature markets such as France. Credit Services Includes consumer credit bureaux in ten countries, business information bureauxin four countries and transaction processing mainly in France Credit Services sales grew by 2% at constant exchange rates in the first half ofthe year. Sales in transaction processing, which account for about two thirds of CreditServices revenues in EMEA/Asia Pacific, were marginally ahead of last year.Cheque processing remains a mature market but Experian continues to consolidateits processing centres to reduce costs, renew existing contracts and win newbusiness - now working for all top six French banks for the first time.Elsewhere, Experian is seeing growth in its business process outsourcingactivities, with recent contract wins and renewals in the transport, utilitiesand healthcare sectors, which will underpin future growth. For example, Experianhas recently signed a four year, multi-million euro contract with EDF to supportits growth with business customers as the French utilities market deregulates. There was double-digit growth from consumer credit services in Southern andEastern Europe and South Africa. The acquisition of the Estonian business andconsumer credit bureaux in October 2006, although small, will enhance theservice offered to Experian's Northern European clients, many of whom are activein Estonia. Decision Analytics Includes credit analytics, decision support software and fraud solutions sold inover 60 countries around the world In the first half of the year, sales from Decision Analytics showed excellentgrowth of 32%, 27% on an organic basis, with a 5% contribution fromacquisitions. There was particular strength in Southern and Eastern Europe,continued penetration in Asia (driven by contract wins in the financial servicessector in Japan and Taiwan and its first small contract win in China) and stronggrowth in Russia. Decision Analytics continues to be used as the key way ofentering and establishing a presence in new high growth geographies, beforerolling out the full range of Experian credit and marketing services asappropriate. Marketing Solutions Includes business strategies, data integrity (QAS) and other marketing servicesaround the world Sales in total increased by 14% in the period, with organic growth of 3%. Therewas an 11% contribution from acquisitions, principally in Business Strategies(Footfall). Financial review Total sales were $271m, up 7% at constant exchange rates compared to the sameperiod last year. Organic growth was 6%. EBIT was $29m, unchanged at constant exchange rates from a year ago, giving anEBIT margin of 10.7% (2005: 11.6%). The margin decline in the first half wasattributable to restructuring costs of $3m relating to the further consolidationof French cheque processing centres - a similar charge was incurred in thesecond half of last year. Excluding these costs, margins increased slightly inthe first half, whilst funding further investment in Asia Pacific in people andinfrastructure. OTHER ITEMS Central activities Following the demerger, the costs of Experian's central activities are expectedto be about $50m in a full financial year - split broadly equally between thefirst and second halves of the year. In the six months to 30 September 2006, the reported costs of central activitieswere $21m (2005: $16m), including an allocation of head office costs from GUSplc. Net interest At 30 September 2006, Experian had net debt of $3,036m. On a pro forma basis,adjusting for net proceeds from the equity issue in October 2006 of $1,447m,Experian would have had net debt of $1,589m. The pro forma net interest expensefor the second half of this financial year based on this level of pro forma netdebt is expected to be $35-40m, including the estimated six-month credit tointerest of about $8m relating to the excess of the expected return on pensionassets over the interest on pension liabilities. In the six months to 30 September 2006, the reported net interest expense was$5m (2005: $9m income), reflecting the pre-demerger capital structure ofExperian under GUS plc. Amortisation of acquisition intangibles IFRS requires that, on acquisition, specific intangible assets are identifiedand recognised separately from goodwill and then amortised over their usefuleconomic lives. These include items such as brand names and customer lists, towhich value is first attributed at the time of acquisition. In the six months to30 September 2006, the charge for amortisation of acquisition intangibles was$37m (2005: $24m). Exceptional items +--------------------------------------+------------+------------+|Six months to 30 September | 2006| 2005|| | | || | $m| $m|+--------------------------------------+------------+------------+|Demerger-related costs | 110| -|| | | |+--------------------------------------+------------+------------+|UK account processing closure costs | 28| -|+--------------------------------------+------------+------------+|Total | 138| -|| | | |+--------------------------------------+------------+------------+ Costs relating to GUS' demerger of Experian and Home Retail Group comprisemainly legal and professional fees in respect of the transaction, costs inrespect of the cessation of the corporate functions of GUS plc and the chargeincurred on the early vesting of share awards. Other exceptional items are those arising from the profit or loss on disposal ofbusinesses or closure costs of material business units. All other restructuringcosts have been charged against EBIT in the segments in which they are incurred.In April 2006, Experian announced the phased withdrawal from large scale creditcard and loan account processing in the UK. As previously disclosed, the costsof withdrawal of approximately $28m have been charged in the six months to 30September 2006. Financing fair value remeasurements An element of Experian's derivatives is ineligible for hedge accounting. Gainsor losses on such elements arising from market movements are charged or creditedto the income statement. In the six months to 30 September 2006, this amountedto a charge of $12m (2005: $4m credit). Taxation In the six months to 30 September 2006, the effective rate of tax on BenchmarkPBT, defined as the total tax expense adjusted for the tax impact ofnon-Benchmark items divided by Benchmark PBT of $391m, was 23.0%. Experianexpects the effective rate of tax on Benchmark PBT to be about 23% for thecurrent financial year. Earnings per share Following the demerger and equity issue completed earlier in October, Experiannow has approximately 1,021m ordinary shares in issue. The number of shares tobe used for the purposes of calculating basic earnings per share will be 1,010m. In the six months to 30 September, Benchmark EPS was 35.1 cents and basic EPSwas 17.8 cents. This was calculated on a weighted average number of shares of855.9m, reflecting the GUS capital structure during that period. Foreign exchange The £/$ exchange rate moved from an average of $1.82 in the six months toSeptember 2005 to $1.84 in 2006. The •/$ exchange rate moved from an average of€1.24 in the six months to September 2005 to €1.27 in 2006. This increasedreported sales by $19m in the first half and EBIT by $4m. The closing £/$ exchange rate at 30 September 2006 was $1.87 (2005: $1.76), andthe •/$ exchange rate at 30 September 2006 was €1.27 (2005: €1.20). APPENDIX 1. Sales and EBIT by principal activity +-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Six months to 30 September | 2006| 2005| Total| Organic|| | | | growth4| growth4|| | $m| $m| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Sales | | | | || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Credit Services | 731| 701| 4%| 2%|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Decision Analytics | 187| 158| 17%| 16%|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Marketing Solutions | 346| 292| 18%| -|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Interactive | 373| 237| 57%| 27%|+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total - continuing activities| 1,637| 1,388| 17%| 7%|| | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | 37| 84| na| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total | 1,674| 1,472| 13%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+| | | | | || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|EBIT | | | | || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Credit Services - direct | 198| 182| 8%| ||business | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- FARES | 30| 41| (27%)| || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Total Credit Services | 228| 223| 2%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Decision Analytics | 69| 52| 31%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Marketing Solutions | 30| 22| 29%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Interactive | 82| 51| 59%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Central activities | (21)| (16)| na| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total - continuing activities| 388| 332| 16%| || | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Discontinuing activities1 | 8| 22| na| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total | 396| 354| 11%| |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+| | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|EBIT margin2 | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Credit Services - direct | 27.1%| 26.0%| | ||business | | | | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Decision Analytics | 36.9%| 32.9%| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Marketing Solutions | 8.7%| 7.5%| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|- Interactive | 22.0%| 21.5%| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+|Total EBIT margin3 | 21.9%| 21.0%| | |+-----------------------------+---------+---------+----------+----------+ 1 Discontinuing activities include MetaReward and UK account processing2 EBIT margin is for continuing direct business only and excludes FARES3 Total EBIT margin for continuing direct business only and after centralactivities4 Growth at constant FX rates 2. Use of non-GAAP financial information Experian has identified certain measures that it believes will assistunderstanding of the performance of the business. This approach is largelycomparable with that previously used by GUS plc, but as the measures are notdefined under IFRS they may not be directly comparable with other companies'adjusted measures. The non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a substitutefor, or superior to, any IFRS measures of performance but management haveincluded them as these are considered to be important comparables and keymeasures used within the business for assessing performance. The following are the key non-GAAP measures identified by Experian: Benchmark profit before tax (Benchmark PBT): Benchmark PBT is defined as profitbefore amortisation of acquisition intangibles, goodwill impairments, charges inrespect of the demerger-related equity incentive plans, exceptional items,financing fair value remeasurements and taxation. It includes Experian's shareof pre-tax profits of associates. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT): EBIT is defined as profit beforeamortisation of acquisition intangibles, goodwill impairments, charges inrespect of the demerger-related equity incentive plans, exceptional items, netfinancing costs, financing fair value remeasurements and taxation. It includesExperian's share of pre-tax profits of associates. Exceptional items: The separate reporting of non-recurring items gives anindication of Experian's underlying performance. Exceptional items are thosearising from the profit or loss on disposal of businesses or closure costs ofmaterial business units. All other restructuring costs have been charged againstEBIT in the segments in which they are incurred. Discontinuing activities: Experian defines discontinuing activities asbusinesses sold, closed or identified for closure during a financial year. Theseare treated as discontinuing activities for both sales and EBIT purposes. Priorperiods, where shown, are restated to exclude the results on discontinuingactivities. This financial measure differs from the definition of discontinuedoperations set out in IFRS 5 (Non-current assets held for sale and discontinuedoperations). Under IFRS 5, a discontinued operation is: (i) a separate majorline of business or geographical area of operations; (ii) part of a single planto dispose of a major line of business or geographical area of operations; or(iii) a subsidiary acquired exclusively with a view to resale. Continuing activities: Businesses trading at 30 September 2006 that have notbeen disclosed as discontinuing activities are treated as continuing activities. Organic growth: This is the year-on-year change in continuing activities sales,at constant exchange rates, excluding acquisitions (other than affiliate creditbureaux) until the first anniversary date of consolidation. Direct business: Direct business refers to Experian's business exclusive offinancial results of FARES. Roundings Certain financial data has been rounded within this announcement. As a result ofthis rounding, the totals of data presented may vary slightly from the actualarithmetic totals of such data. 3. Reconciliation of sales and EBIT by geography +-----------+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+|Six months | 2006 | 2005 ||to 30 | | ||September | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+| |Continuing|Dis-continuing|Total|Continuing|Dis-continuing|Total|| |activities| activities| |activities| activities| |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+| | $m| $m| $m| $m| $m| $m|| | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Sales | | | | | | || | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Americas | 965| 3| 968| 813| 43| 856|+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|UK and | 401| 34| 435| 326| 41| 367||Ireland | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|EMEA/Asia | | | | | | ||Pacific | | | | | | || | 271| -| 271| 249| -| 249|+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Total sales| 1,637| 37|1,674| 1,388| 84|1,472|| | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+| | | | | | | || | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|EBIT | | | | | | || | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Americas - | | | | | | ||direct | | | | | | ||business | 240| (7)| 233| 188| 5| 193|+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|FARES | 30| | 30| 41| | 41|| | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Total | 270| (7)| 263| 229| 5| 234||Americas | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|UK and | 110| 15| 125| 90| 17| 107||Ireland | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|EMEA/Asia | | | | | | ||Pacific | | | | | | || | 29| | 29| 29| | 29|+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Central | | | | | | ||activities | | | | | | || | (21)| | (21)| (16)| | (16)|+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Total EBIT | 388| 8| 396| 332| 22| 354|| | | | | | | |+-----------+----------+--------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Net interest | (5)| | | 9|+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Benchmark PBT | 391| | | 363|| | | | | |+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Amortisation of acquisition | (37)| | | (24)||intangibles | | | | |+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Exceptional items |(138)| | | -|+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Financing fair value remeasurements | (12)| | | 4|+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Tax expense of associates | (2)| | | -|+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+|Profit before tax | 202| | | 343|+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+--------------+-----+ EXPERIAN GROUP LIMITEDUNAUDITED COMBINED INCOME STATEMENT for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 Notes US$m US$m US$mContinuing operations: Revenue 3 1,674 1,472 3,084 Cost of sales (817) (707) (1,527)Gross profit 857 765 1,557 Net operating expenses (666) (475) (971)Operating profit 191 290 586 Interest income 119 123 220Interest expense (124) (114) (232)Financing fair value (12) 4 (2)remeasurementsNet financing (costs)/income (17) 13 (14) Share of post-tax profits of 28 40 66associatesProfit before tax 3 202 343 638 Tax expense 6 (50) (81) (118)Profit after tax and for the 152 262 520financial period Attributable to:Equity shareholders 152 262 520Profit after tax and for the 152 262 520financial period Earnings per share 7 cents cents cents- Basic 17.8 30.8 61.2- Diluted 17.6 30.2 60.1 The financial information within this document may not be representative of future results. The historical capital structure does not reflect the future capital structure. Future interest income and expense, certain operating expenses, tax charges and dividends may be significantly different from those that resulted from being wholly owned by GUS plc. Non-GAAP measuresReconciliation of profit before tax to Benchmark PBT Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 Notes US$m US$m US$mProfit before tax 3 202 343 638exclude: exceptional items 5 138 - 7exclude: amortisation of 5 37 24 66acquisition intangiblesexclude: financing fair value 5 12 (4) 2remeasurementsexclude: tax expense on share of 3 2 - 2 profits of associatesBenchmark PBT 3 391 363 715 Benchmark earnings per share 7 cents cents cents- Basic 35.1 33.0 68.0- Diluted 34.8 32.4 66.8 Dividend per Experian Group Limited Ordinary share (announced) 8 5.5 * The amount absorbed by this first dividend of Experian Group Limited is US$56m. UNAUDITED COMBINED BALANCE SHEET at 30 September 2006 30 September 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mAssets Non-current assetsGoodwill 2,166 1,455 2,070Other intangible assets 820 633 818Property, plant and equipment 481 454 459Investment in associates 238 215 225Deferred tax assets 378 365 351Trade and other receivables 9 5 14Other financial assets 60 83 145 4,152 3,210 4,082 Current assets Inventories 5 2 3Trade and other receivables 784 2,824 3,239Current tax assets 169 131 157Other financial assets 18 21 6Cash and cash equivalents 526 122 157 1,502 3,100 3,562Total assets 5,654 6,310 7,644 LiabilitiesNon-current liabilitiesTrade and other payables (49) (101) (96)Loans and borrowings (1,208) (2,519) (3,213)Deferred tax liabilities (251) (184) (233)Retirement benefit obligations (28) (33) (22)Provisions (30) - -Other financial liabilities (2) (3) (14) (1,568) (2,840) (3,578) Current liabilitiesTrade and other payables (965) (2,158) (2,766)Loans and borrowings (2,402) (799) (300)Other financial liabilities (22) (31) (36)Current tax liabilities (406) (272) (364) (3,795) (3,260) (3,466)Total liabilities (5,363) (6,100) (7,044) Net assets 291 210 600 EquityInvested capital 291 210 600 UNAUDITED COMBINED STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED INCOME AND EXPENSE for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m USS$m US$mNet income recognised directly in equityNet investment hedge 102 11 (16)Fair value losses in the period (1) - (2)Actuarial (losses)/gains in respect ofdefined benefit pension schemes (17) 23 29Currency translation differences (41) 10 (4)Tax charge in respect of items taken (11) (11) (7)directly to equityNet income recognised directly in equity 32 33 - Profit for the financial period 152 262 520Total income recognised in the period 184 295 520 Total income recognised in the periodattributable to:Equity shareholders 184 295 520Total income recognised in the period 184 295 520 Cumulative adjustment for theimplementation of IAS 39* Attributable to equity shareholders - 8 8 Total - 8 8 * IAS 39 was adopted on 1 April 2005. UNAUDITED COMBINED CASH FLOW STATEMENT for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mCash generated from operations (note 11) 397 354 874Interest paid (84) (91) (193)Interest received 85 96 170Dividends received from associates 22 30 48Tax paid (56) (11) (32)Net cash inflow from operating activities 364 378 867 Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment (44) (28) (62)Purchase of intangible assets (74) (68) (150)Purchase of other financial assets andinvestments in associates (8) (12) (41)Acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired (80) (625) (1,420)Net cash flows used in investing activities (206) (733) (1,673) Cash flows from financing activities Purchase of GUS plc shares - (60) (65)Issue of GUS plc shares 54 29 52Sale of GUS plc shares 5 - 36New borrowings 655 311 647Repayment of borrowings (1,420) - (63)Capital element of finance lease rental (2) (2) (2)paymentsNet receipts from derivatives held tomanage currency profile 21 - 13 Equity dividends paid to GUS plcshareholders (346) (368) (508)Net dividends received from other GUS group companies 13 11 21Net proceeds on disposal of other GUS group companies 258 255 415Funding received from/(paid to) other GUS group companies 434 (134) (57)Net (increase)/decrease in equity in otherGUS group companies (253) 38 93 Net cash flows (used in)/generated fromfinancing activities (581) 80 582 Exchange and other movements 91 (1) (20)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (332) (276) (244) Movement in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April (89) 155 155Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (332) (276) (244)Cash and cash equivalents at the end ofthe financial period (421) (121) (89) Non-GAAP measuresReconciliation of net decrease in cash and Six months to 30 September Year to 31cash equivalents to movement in net debt March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mNet debt at 1 April (3,277) (2,654) (2,654)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (332) (276) (244)Decrease/(increase) in debt 767 (309) (582)Exchange and other movements (194) 132 203Net debt at the end of the financial period (3,036) (3,107) (3,277)(note 9) UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 1. Basis of preparation This Combined Financial Information presents the financial record for the sixmonths ended 30 September 2006, the six months ended 30 September 2005 and theyear ended 31 March 2006 of those businesses held by Experian Group Limited atthe date of admission of the shares of Experian Group Limited to the LondonStock Exchange. The Combined Financial Information therefore comprises anaggregation of amounts included in the financial statements of Experianentities, GUS plc and certain other GUS entities (together the "ExperianCompanies"). It excludes those businesses which have been sold and have beendemerged by GUS plc (principally Home Retail Group, Burberry and Lewis Group(together the "other GUS group companies")). The financial information shown forthe year ended 31 March 2006 does not constitute full financial statementswithin the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. During the period, the Experian Companies did not form a separate legal groupand therefore it is not meaningful to show share capital or an analysis ofreserves for the Experian Companies within the Combined Financial Information.The net assets of the Experian Companies are represented by the cumulativeinvestment in the Experian Companies (shown as "Invested capital"). The following summarises the accounting and other principles applied inpreparing the Combined Financial Information: •The Combined Financial Information has been prepared in accordancewith the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority. There have been nonew International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") adopted since 1 April2006 and accordingly the information has been prepared on a consistent basiswith that reported for the year ended 31 March 2006 within the Prospectus ofExperian Group Limited dated 14 September. A summary of significant accountingpolicies can be found on pages 91 to 97 of that Prospectus, a copy of which canbe obtained from the corporate website, www.experiangroup.com. Experian haschosen not to adopt IAS 34 "Interim financial statements", in preparing its 30September 2006 interim report and, accordingly, this Combined FinancialInformation is not in compliance with IFRS. •Subsidiary undertakings and associates acquired or disposed of bythe Experian Companies during the period presented have been included in theCombined Financial Information from and up to the date control was passed. •All cash and other movements in capital amounts, being shares issuedor cancelled and dividends paid, in respect of GUS plc have been reflected inthe cash flow and reconciliation of movements in invested capital. •Any funding of other GUS group companies during the period of theCombined Financial Information which comprises equity holdings and quasi-equityloans has been treated as part of invested capital. All changes in such fundingare shown as movements in invested capital under "net (increase)/decrease inequity in other GUS group companies". •Debt finance utilised by GUS plc to fund the Experian Companies andthe other GUS group companies and trading balances with other GUS groupcompanies are included within the Combined Financial Information. •Dividends paid to and received from other GUS group companies areshown as movements in invested capital under "net dividends received from otherGUS group companies". •Transactions and balances between entities included within theCombined Financial Information have been eliminated. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 1. Basis of preparation (continued) •GUS plc had not historically recharged corporate head office costscomprising administration, management and other services including, but notlimited to, management information, accounting and financial reporting,treasury, taxation, cash management, employee benefit administration, payrolland professional services to any of its underlying businesses. However, for thepurposes of the preparation of the Combined Financial Information an allocationhas been made of the amounts of shared corporate head office costs between theExperian Companies and Home Retail Group, based on an estimate of the usage ofthe services. These costs were affected by the arrangements that existed in theGUS plc Group and are not necessarily representative of the position that mayprevail in the future. •Tax charges in the Combined Financial Information have beendetermined based on the tax charges recorded by the Experian Companies in theirfinancial information as well as certain adjustments made for GUS plc Groupconsolidation purposes. The tax charges recorded in the combined incomestatement have been affected by the taxation arrangements within the GUS plcGroup and are not necessarily representative of the tax charges that would havebeen reported had the Experian Companies been an independent group. They are notnecessarily representative of the tax charges that may arise in the future. •Interest income and expense recorded in the combined incomestatement have been affected by the financing arrangements within the GUS plcGroup and are not necessarily representative of the interest income and expensethat would have been reported had the Experian Companies been an independentgroup. They are not necessarily representative of the interest income andexpense that may arise in the future. The rate of interest applying to fundingbalances within the Combined Financial Information has been determined by GUSplc. •Financial information in respect of those businesses included withinthe Combined Financial Information has historically been reported in sterling,as this was the dominant functional currency of the GUS plc Group when itincluded other GUS group companies. As a result of the sale or demerger of thoseentities, the relative importance to the Combined Financial Information of theAmericas reporting segment, whose principal functional currency is the USDollar, has increased. Accordingly, the Experian Companies converted from areporting currency of Sterling to the US Dollar, being the most representativecurrency of its operations. The Combined Financial Information has beenpresented in US Dollars as though this has been the reporting currency of theExperian Companies throughout that period. The principal exchange rates used inpreparing the Combined Financial Information were as follows: Average Closing Year to 31 Six months to 30 September March 30 September 31 March 2006 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006 Sterling to US Dollar 1.84 1.82 1.79 1.87 1.76 1.74Euro to US Dollar 1.27 1.24 1.22 1.27 1.20 1.22 Assets and liabilities of overseas undertakings are translated into US dollarsat the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date and the incomestatement is translated into US dollars at average rates of exchange. •The Combined Financial Information has been prepared on a goingconcern basis and under the historical cost convention, modified by therevaluation of certain fixed assets and financial instruments. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 1. Basis of preparation (continued) The preparation of the Combined Financial Information requires management tomake estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of revenues,expenses, assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities.If in the future such estimates and assumptions, which are based on management'sbest judgment at the date of the Combined Financial Information, deviate fromactual circumstances, the original estimates and assumptions will be modified asappropriate in the period in which the circumstances change. 2. Use of non-GAAP measures Experian Group Limited has identified certain measures that it believes willassist understanding of the performance of the business. The measures are notdefined under IFRS and they may not be directly comparable with other companies'adjusted measures. The non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a substitutefor, or superior to, any IFRS measures of performance but management hasincluded them as they consider them to be important comparables and key measuresused within the business for assessing performance. The following are the key non-GAAP measures identified by Experian GroupLimited: Benchmark Profit Before Tax (''Benchmark PBT'') Benchmark PBT is defined as profit before amortisation of acquisitionintangibles, goodwill impairments, charges in respect of the demerger-relatedequity incentive plans, exceptional items, financing fair value remeasurementsand taxation. It includes the Experian Companies' share of associates' pre-taxprofit. Earnings Before Interest and Tax (''EBIT'') EBIT is defined as profit before amortisation of acquisition intangibles,goodwill impairments, charges in respect of the demerger-related equityincentive plans, exceptional items, net interest income/(expense), financingfair value remeasurements and taxation. It includes the Experian Companies'share of associates' pre-tax profit. Benchmark Earnings Per Share ("Benchmark EPS") Benchmark EPS represents Benchmark PBT less attributable taxation and minorityinterests divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue, and isdisclosed to indicate the underlying profitability of the Experian Companies. Exceptional items The separate reporting of non-recurring exceptional items gives an indication ofthe Experian Companies' underlying performance. Exceptional items are thosearising from the profit or loss on disposal of businesses or closure costs ofmaterial business units. All other restructuring costs are charged against EBITin the segments in which they are incurred. Net debt Net debt is calculated as total debt less cash and cash equivalents. Total debtincludes loans and borrowings (and the fair value of derivatives hedging loansand borrowings), overdrafts and obligations under finance leases. Interestpayable on borrowings is excluded from net debt. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 3. Segmental information - geographical segments Six months ended 30 September 2006 EMEA/ UK & Asia Central Americas Ireland Pacific activities Total US$m US$m US$m US$m US$mRevenue1 968 435 271 - 1,674 ProfitEBIT2 263 125 29 (21) 396Net interest expense - - - (5) (5)Benchmark PBT 263 125 29 (26) 391 Exceptional items (note 5) - (28) - (110) (138)Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (note 5) (21) (13) (3) - (37)Financing fair value remeasurements (note 5) - - - (12) (12)Tax expense on share of profit associates (2) - - - (2)Profit before tax 240 84 26 (148) 202 Tax expense (note 6) (50) Profit for the financial period 152 Six months ended 30 September 2005 EMEA/ UK & Asia Central Americas Ireland Pacific activities Total US$m US$m US$m US$m US$mRevenue1 856 367 249 - 1,472 ProfitEBIT2 234 107 29 (16) 354Net interest income - - - 9 9Benchmark PBT 234 107 29 (7) 363 Amortisation of acquisition intangibles (note 5) (18) (6) - - (24)Financing fair value remeasurement (note 5) - - - 4 4Profit before tax 216 101 29 (3) 343Tax expense (note 6) (81) Profit for the financial period 262 1 Revenue arose principally from the provision of services. 2 A reconciliation between the segmental result of Experian presented in Note B to the interim financial statements of GUS plc and EBIT of Experian Group Limited as presented above is shown in note 16. Costs included within Central activities represent corporate head office costs which include costs arising from finance, treasury and other global functions. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 3. Segmental information - geographical segments (continued) Year ended 31 March 2006 UK & EMEA/ Central Americas Ireland Asia activities Total US$m US$m Pacific US$m US$m US$mRevenue1 1,804 758 522 - 3,084 ProfitEBIT2 479 215 64 (31) 727Net interest expense - - - (12) (12)Benchmark PBT 479 215 64 (43) 715 Exceptional items (note 5) - - - (7) (7)Amortisation of acquisition (46) (18) (2) - (66)intangibles (note 5)Financing fair value remeasurements - - - (2) (2)(note 5)Tax expense on share of profit (2) - - - (2)associatesProfit before tax 431 197 62 (52) 638 Tax expense (note 6) (118) Profit for the financial period 520 1 Revenue arose principally from the provision of services. 2 A reconciliation between the segmental result of Experian presented in Note B to the interim financial statements of GUS plc and EBIT of Experian Group Limited as presented above is shown in note 16. Costs included within Central activities represent corporate head office costs which include costs arising from finance, treasury and other global functions. 4. Segmental information - business segments Six months ended 30 September 2006 Credit Decision Marketing Central Services Analytics Solutions Interactive activities Total US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$mRevenue 765 187 346 376 - 1,674 ProfitEBIT 243 69 30 75 (21) 396Net interest expense - - - - (5) (5)Benchmark PBT 243 69 30 75 (26) 391 Exceptional items (28) - - - (110) (138)(note 5)Amortisation of (9) - (13) (15) - (37)acquisitionintangibles (note 5)Financing fair value - - - - (12) (12)remeasurements(note 5)Tax expense on share (2) - - - - (2)of profit ofassociatesProfit before tax 204 69 17 60 (148) 202 Tax expense (note 6) (50) Profit for the 152financial period UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 4. Segmental information - business segments (continued) Six months ended 30 September 2005 Credit Decision Marketing Central Services Analytics Solutions Interactive activities Total US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$mRevenue 745 158 292 277 - 1,472 ProfitEBIT 240 52 22 56 (16) 354Net interest income - - - - 9 9Benchmark PBT 240 52 22 56 (7) 363 Amortisation of acquisition (10) - (7) (7) - (24)intangibles (note 5)Financing fair value - - - - 4 4remeasurements (note 5)Profit before tax 230 52 15 49 (3) 343 Tax expense (note 6) (81) Profit for the financial period 262 Year ended 31 March 2006 Credit Decision Marketing Central Services Analytics Solutions Interactive activities Total US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$mRevenue 1,504 325 627 628 - 3,084 ProfitEBIT 477 102 57 122 (31) 727Net interest expense - - - - (12) (12)Benchmark PBT 477 102 57 122 (43) 715 Exceptional items (note 5) - - - - (7) (7)Amortisation of acquisition (14) - (16) (36) - (66)intangibles (note 5)Financing fair value remeasurements - - - - (2) (2)(note 5)Tax expense on share of profit of (2) - - - - (2)associatesProfit before tax 461 102 41 86 (52) 638 Tax expense (note 6) (118) Profit for the financial period 520 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 5. Exceptional and other non-GAAP measures Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mExceptional items Charge on early vesting of share awards atdemerger of Home Retail Group and Experian 15 - -Other costs incurred relating to the demergerof Home Retail Group and Experian 108 - 7 Waiver of loan to Home Retail Group (13) - -Costs incurred in the closure of UK Account 28 - -ProcessingTotal exceptional items 138 - 7 Other non-GAAP measuresAmortisation of acquisition intangibles 37 24 66Charge/(credit) in respect of financingfair value remeasurements 12 (4) 2Total other non-GAAP measures 49 20 68 Exceptional items Other costs incurred relating to the demerger of Home Retail Group and Experiancomprise legal and professional fees in respect of the transaction, togetherwith costs in connection with the cessation of the corporate functions of GUSplc. As part of the demerger process, a loan due to Home Retail Group of US$13mwas waived. On 27 April 2006, Experian announced its phased withdrawal from large scalecredit card and loan account processing in the UK. The full cost of withdrawalof US$28m, all of which will be cash, has been charged in the six months ended30 September 2006. Other non-GAAP measures IFRS requires that, on acquisition, specific intangible assets are identifiedand recognised separately from goodwill and then amortised over their usefuleconomic lives. These include items such as brand names and customer lists, towhich value is first attributed at the time of acquisition. As permitted byIFRS, acquisitions prior to 1 April 2004 have not been restated. Experian hasexcluded amortisation of these acquisition intangibles from its definition ofBenchmark PBT because such a charge is based on uncertain judgements about theirvalue and economic life. An element of Experian's derivatives is ineligible for hedge accounting. Gainsor losses on such elements arising from market movements are credited or chargedwithin financing fair value remeasurements in the combined income statement. 6. Taxation The effective rate of tax based on the profit before tax for the six monthsended 30 September 2006 of US$202m (2005: US$343m) is 24.8% (2005: 23.6%).Theeffective rate of tax based on Benchmark PBT, defined as the total tax expense,adjusted for the tax impact of non-Benchmark items, divided by Benchmark PBT ofUS$391m (2005: US$363m), is 23.0% (2005: 22.7%). The tax expense comprises: Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mUK taxation 15 48 50Non-UK taxation 35 33 68Total tax expense 50 81 118 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 7. Basic and diluted earnings per share The calculation of basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing theearnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number ofGUS plc Ordinary shares in issue during the period (excluding own shares held inTreasury and in the ESOP trust, which are treated as cancelled). The weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue used in calculations hasbeen adjusted to take account of issues, repurchases and cancellations of GUSplc Ordinary shares, including the effect of a share consolidation that tookplace in December 2005 following the Burberry dividend in specie. The calculation of diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilutiveeffect of employee share incentive schemes under the existing GUS plcarrangements and does not take account of the new arrangements put in place aspart of the demerger of Home Retail Group and Experian, or the new issue ofshares by Experian Group Limited. Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 cents cents cents Basic earnings per share 17.8 30.8 61.2Add back of exceptional and other non-GAAP measures, 17.3 2.2 6.8net of taxBenchmark earnings per share 35.1 33.0 68.0 Diluted earnings per share 17.6 30.2 60.1Add back of exceptional and other non-GAAP measures, 17.2 2.2 6.7net of taxBenchmark diluted earnings per share 34.8 32.4 66.8 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £m Earnings 152 262 520 Add back of exceptional and other non-GAAP measures, 148 18 58net of taxBenchmark earnings 300 280 578 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 m m mNumber of shares in issue during the period 855.9 848.4 849.8 Dilutive effect of share incentive awards 8.3 15.1 15.0Diluted number of shares in issue during the 864.2 863.5 864.8period 8. Dividend An interim dividend of 5.5 US cents per Experian Group Limited Ordinary sharehas been announced (but not provided) and will be paid on 2 February 2007 toshareholders on the register of members at the close of business on 5 January2007. Unless shareholders elect to receive US dollars by 5 January 2007, theirdividends will be paid in sterling at a rate per share calculated on the basisof the exchange rate from US dollars to sterling on 12 January 2007. Pursuant to the Income Access Share arrangements put in place as part of thedemerger, shareholders in Experian Group Limited are able to elect to receivetheir dividends from a UK source (the "IAS election"). Shareholders who held50,000 or fewer shares on the demerger or new shareholders who have acquiredshares since the demerger and have a total holding of less than 50,000 shares atthe close of business on 5 January 2007, are deemed to have made an IAS electionunless they elect otherwise in writing by 5 January 2007. Shareholders who holdmore than 50,000 shares and who wish to receive their dividends from a UK sourcemust make an IAS election in writing by 5 January 2007. All elections and deemedelections remain in force indefinitely unless revoked. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 9. Analysis of net debt 30 September 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mOverdrafts net of cash and cash equivalents (421) (121) (89)Derivatives hedging loans and borrowings 5 89 79Debt due within one year (1,418) (551) (50)Finance leases (3) (5) (6)Debt due after more than one year (1,199) (2,519) (3,211)Net debt at the end of the financial period (3,036) (3,107) (3,277) 10. Reconciliation of movement in invested capital Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mOpening invested capital 600 (2) (2)Cumulative adjustment for the - 8 8implementation of IAS 39*Profit for the financial period 152 262 520Equity dividends paid to GUS plc (346) (368) (508)shareholdersNet dividends received from other GUS group 13 11 21companiesNet income recognised directly in equityfor the financial period 32 33 -Reduction in minority interests share of - (2) -net assetsNet proceeds on disposal of other GUS group - 255 415companiesDisposal/(purchase) of GUS plc shares 5 (60) (29)Employee share option schemes:- value of employee services 34 6 30- proceeds from shares issued 54 29 52Net (increase)/decrease in equity inother GUS group companies (253) 38 93Closing invested capital 291 210 600 * IAS 39 was adopted on 1 April 2005. 11. Cash generated from operations Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 US$m US$m US$mCash flows from operating activities Profit after tax 152 262 520Adjustments for: Tax expense 50 81 118 Share of post-tax profits of associates (28) (40) (66) Net financing costs/(income) 17 (13) 14Operating profit 191 290 586Depreciation and amortisation 146 124 270Credit in respect of share incentive 34 6 30schemesExceptional items included in working 90 - 7capitalChange in working capital (64) (66) (19)Cash generated from operations 397 354 874 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 12. Post-employment benefits Following changes introduced by the Finance Act 2004 which took effect from 6April 2006 (A-Day), the GUS Pension Scheme, being the principal defined benefitpension scheme operated by the Experian Companies, has implemented revised termsfor members exchanging pension at retirement date for a tax-free lump sum. Withless than six months of experience since A-Day, insufficient time has elapsed asat 30 September 2006 to reliably estimate the changes in the commutationbehaviour of pension scheme members in the longer term. Accordingly, no effectof this change has been recognised in the Combined Financial Information. 13. Related parties Experian companies made net sales and recharges, under normal commercial termsand conditions that would be available to third parties, to First American RealEstate Solutions LLC (an associated undertaking) of US$15m in the six monthsended 30 September 2006 (2005: US$11m) and US$21m in the year ended 31 March2006. There were no other material transactions with related parties. 14. Post balance sheet events On 10 October 2006, Experian Group Limited became the ultimate holding companyof GUS plc and the separation of Home Retail Group and Experian by way ofdemerger was completed. Shares in GUS plc ceased to be listed as part of thedemerger process. Trading in shares in Experian Group Limited on the LondonStock Exchange's market for listed securities commenced on 11 October 2006.Experian Group Limited also raised US$1,447m (£778m) by way of a share offer onthat day. 15. Corporate information Experian Group Limited is incorporated and registered in Jersey under the JerseyCompanies Law as a public company limited by shares. 16. Reconciliation of segmental information - income statement Reconciliations between the key information of the Experian segment presented inNote B to the interim financial statements of GUS plc and the segmentalinformation shown in note 3 are set out below.+--------------------------------------+------+---------------------------+---------------+| | |Six months to 30 September | Year to 31|| | | | March|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| | | 2006| 2005| 2006|| | | | | ||a) Revenue |Notes | m| m| m|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Experian segment - total revenue | B | £908| £808| £1,725|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Translated into US$ at the average | 3 | $1,674| $1,472| $3,084||exchange rate | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| | | | | || | | | | ||b) Segmental result to EBIT |Notes | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Experian segmental result | B | £186| £187| £380|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Translated into US$ at the average | | $343| $341| $680||exchange rate | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Exceptional item - Costs incurred in | | | | ||the closure of Experian UK Account | | | | ||Processing | 5 | $28| -| -|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Amortisation of acquisition | 5 | $37| $24| $66||intangibles | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|GUS central activities1 | | $(12)| $(11)| $(19)|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| | | | | |+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+|Total EBIT | 3 | $396| $354| $727|+--------------------------------------+------+-------------+-------------+---------------+| || ||1For the purposes of preparation of the Combined Financial Information an allocation has ||been made of the amounts of shared corporate head office costs between Experian Companies||and Home Retail Group, based on estimated usage of the services. |+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 September 2006 17. Reconciliation from GUS plc to Experian Group Limited - balance sheet A reconciliation between the consolidated balance sheet of GUS plc and itssubsidiary undertaking (the "GUS Group") and the combined balance sheet of theExperian Companies at 30 September 2006 is set out below. GUS Group Home Retail Experian Experian at Group at Companies at Companies at 30 September 30 September 30 September 30 September 2006 2006 Adjustments 2006 2006 (Note a) (Note b) (Note c) £m £m £m £m US$m Assets Non-current assets Goodwill 3,036 (1,879) - 1,157 2,166Other intangible assets 521 (83) - 438 820Property, plant and 943 (686) - 257 481equipmentInvestment in associates 128 (1) - 127 238Deferred tax assets 311 (109) - 202 378Retirement benefit 7 (22) 15 - -assetsTrade and other 30 (25) - 5 9receivablesOther financial assets 45 (13) - 32 60 5,021 (2,818) 15 2,218 4,152Current assets Inventories 935 (933) - 2 5Trade and other 913 (508) 15 420 784receivablesCurrent tax assets 97 (7) - 90 169Other financial assets 9 - - 9 18Cash and cash 545 (264) - 281 526equivalents 2,499 (1,712) 15 802 1,502Total assets 7,520 (4,530) 30 3,020 5,654 Liabilities Non-current liabilities Trade and other payables (60) 34 - (26) (49)Loans and borrowings (875) 229 - (646) (1,208)Deferred tax liabilities (201) 67 - (134) (251)Retirement benefit - - (15) (15) (28)obligationsProvisions (16) - - (16) (30)Other financial (1) - - (1) (2)liabilities (1,153) 330 (15) (838) (1,568) Current liabilities Trade and other payables (1,605) 1,104 (15) (516) (965)Loans and borrowings (1,283) - - (1,283) (2,402)Provisions (93) 93 - - -Other financial (21) 10 - (11) (22)liabilitiesCurrent tax liabilities (262) 45 - (217) (406) (3,264) 1,252 (15) (2,027) (3,795)Total liabilities (4,417) 1,582 (30) (2,865) (5,363) Net assets 3,103 (2,948) - 155 291 Notes a) As reported in the interim financial statements of GUS plc. b) Following the demerger, financial information in respect of Home Retail Groupis separately reported by that company. The information above has beenextracted, without material adjustment, from Home Retail Group's interimCombined Financial Information for the six months ended 30 September 2006. c) Adjustments comprise (i) the reclassification of certain inter-companyreceivables and payables between Home Retail Group and Experian Companies and(ii) the reclassification of pension balances. PART TWO: GUS plc The following analysis refers to financial information in respect of GUS plc andits subsidiaries, including Home Retail Group and Experian. Financial review Total GUS revenue from continuing operations was £3,722m in the six months to 30September 2006, compared to £3,420m in the same period last year. Profit beforetax was £176m in the period, compared to £269m last year. There was anexceptional charge of £91m in the six months to 30 September 2006 (2005: nil) inrespect of costs relating to the demerger (£76m) and costs incurred by Experianin the closure of its UK account processing business (£15m). Home Retail Group Home Retail Group's revenue in the six months to 30 September 2006 was £2,820m(2005: £2,618m). This comprised Argos revenue of £1,794m (2005: £1,609m),Homebase revenue of £979m (2005: £966m) and Financial Services revenue of £47m(2005: £43m). Home Retail Group's profit before tax was £117m (2005: £115m).Further details on the results of Home Retail Group can be found within itsinterim announcement, issued on 21 November 2006. Experian Experian's revenue in the six months to 30 September 2006 was £902m (2005:£802m). Experian's profit before tax was £185m (2005: £187m) with the profitbefore tax for the six months to 30 September 2006 stated after theirexceptional charge of £15m. Further information on Experian's results isdetailed in Part One of these financial results. Demerger On 10 October 2006, Experian Group Limited became the ultimate holding companyof GUS plc and the separation of Home Retail Group and Experian by way ofdemerger was completed. Shares in GUS plc ceased to be listed as part of thedemerger process. Trading in shares in Home Retail Group plc and Experian GroupLimited on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities commenced on11 October 2006. Experian Group Limited also raised US$1,447m (£778m) by way ofa share offer on that day. UNAUDITED GROUP INCOME STATEMENT for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 (Restated) (Restated) (Note A) (Note A) Notes £m £m £mContinuing operations: Revenue B 3,722 3,420 7,262Cost of sales (2,288) (2,100) (4,529)Gross profit 1,434 1,320 2,733 Net operating expenses C (1,240) (1,056) (2,079)Operating profit 194 264 654 Interest income 45 53 98Interest expense (71) (69) (137)Financing fair value (7) (1) (3)remeasurementsNet financing costs (33) (17) (42) Share of post-tax profits of 15 22 37associatesProfit before tax B 176 269 649 Group tax expense D (52) (74) (165) Profit after tax and for thefinancial period fromcontinuing operations 124 195 484 Discontinued operations:(Loss)/profit for the financialperiod from discontinuedoperations F (8) 102 111Profit after tax and for thefinancial period 116 297 595 Profit attributable to:Equity shareholders in GUS 116 276 569plcMinority interests - 21 26Profit after tax and for thefinancial period 116 297 595 Dividend for the period H - 82 284 Earnings per share G- Basic 13.6p 28.0 p 60.2p- Diluted 13.4p 27.6 p 59.2p Dividend per GUS plcOrdinary share (declared andproposed) H - 9.6p 31.5p UNAUDITED GROUP BALANCE SHEET At 30 September 2006 30 September 31 March 2006 2005 2006 (Restated) (Note A) £m £m £mAssets Non-current assetsGoodwill 3,036 2,822 3,068Other intangible assets 521 429 532Property, plant and equipment 943 1,093 959Investment in associates 128 127 129Deferred tax assets 311 337 314Retirement benefit assets 7 - 18Trade and other receivables 30 86 51Other financial assets 45 61 91 5,021 4,955 5,162Current assetsInventories 935 1,015 883Trade and other receivables 913 1,130 1,051Current tax assets 97 74 119Other financial assets 9 25 6Cash and cash equivalents 545 309 221 2,499 2,553 2,280Assets of discontinued operations classified as - 281 -held for sale Total assets 7,520 7,789 7,442 Liabilities Non-current liabilitiesTrade and other payables (60) (138) (83)Loans and borrowings (875) (1,653) (2,067)Deferred tax liabilities (201) (172) (201)Retirement benefit obligations - (102) -Provisions (16) - -Other financial liabilities (1) (1) (8) (1,153) (2,066) (2,359)Current liabilitiesTrade and other payables (1,605) (1,552) (1,391)Loans and borrowings (1,283) (455) (174)Provisions (93) (87) (89)Other financial liabilities (21) (21) (21)Current tax liabilities (262) (247) (276) (3,264) (2,362) (1,951)Liabilities of discontinued operations classified - (59) -as held for sale Total liabilities (4,417) (4,487) (4,310) Net assets 3,103 3,302 3,132 Shareholders' equityShare capital 255 255 256Share premium 125 84 97Other reserves (189) (263) (240)Retained earnings 2,911 3,059 3,018Total shareholders' equity 3,102 3,135 3,131Minority interest in equity 1 167 1 Total equity 3,103 3,302 3,132 UNAUDITED GROUP STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED INCOME AND EXPENSE for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 (Restated) (Note A) £m £m £mNet (expense)/income recognised directly in equity Cash flow hedges (5) 4 (2)Net investment hedge 55 5 (9)Fair value (losses)/gains in the period (1) (3) 2Actuarial (losses)/gains in respect ofdefined benefit pension schemes (14) (8) 7Currency translation differences (42) 2 14Recycled cumulative exchange loss in respect of - 3 3divestmentsTax (charge)/credit in respect of items taken (9) 1 5directly to equity Net (expense)/income recognised directly in equity (16) 4 20Profit for the financial period 116 297 595Total income recognised in the period 100 301 615 Total income recognised in the period attributable to:Equity shareholders in GUS plc 100 280 586Minority interest - 21 29Total income recognised in the period 100 301 615 Cumulative adjustment for the implementation ofIAS 39*Attributable to equity shareholders in GUS plc - 10 10Attributable to minority interests - 2 2Total - 12 12 * IAS 39 was adopted on 1 April 2005. UNAUDITED GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT for the six months ended 30 September 2006 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 (Restated) (Restated) (Note A) (Note A) £m £m £mContinuing operations:Cash generated from operations (note K) 592 464 923Interest paid (37) (22) (63)Interest received 13 10 30Dividends received from associates 12 17 27Tax paid (63) (36) (108)Net cash inflow from operating activities 517 433 809Continuing operations:Cash flows from investing activitiesPurchase of property, plant and equipment (85) (153) (261)Sale of property, plant and equipment 2 2 6Purchase of intangible assets (70) (46) (112)Sale of intangible assets - 1 2Purchase of other financial assets and investment (4) (7) (28)in associatesAcquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash (43) (384) (819)acquiredDisposal of subsidiaries 140 127 360Net cash flows used in investing activities (60) (460) (852)Continuing operations:Cash flows from financing activitiesPurchase of treasury and ESOP shares - (33) (36)Issue of Ordinary shares 29 16 29Sale of own shares 3 - 20 New borrowings 348 237 340Repayment of borrowings (770) - (35)Capital element of finance lease rental (2) (2) (3)paymentsNet receipts from derivatives held to manage 29 - 14currency profileEquity dividends paid (188) (202) (284) Net cash flows used in financing activities (551) 16 45Exchange and other movements 53 (3) (8) Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents -continuing operations (41) (14) (6)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents -discontinued operations - (74) (173)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (41) (88) (179) Movement in cash and cash equivalents fromcontinuing operationsCash and cash equivalents at 1 April - 80 84 84continuing operationsNet decrease in cash and cash equivalents (41) (14) (6)Exchange and other movements - - 2Cash and cash equivalents at the end of thefinancial period - continuing operations 39 70 80 Non-GAAP measures Six months to 30 September Year to 31 MarchReconciliation of net decrease in cash and cash 2006 2005 2006equivalents to movement in net debt £m £m £m Net debt at 1 April - as reported (1,974) (1,427) (1,427)Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April - - (173) (173)discontinued operationsOther financial assets at 1 April - - (31) (31)discontinued operationsNet debt at 1 April - continuing operations (1,974) (1,631) (1,631)Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (41) (14) (6)Decrease/(increase) in debt 424 (235) (302)Exchange and other movements 12 11 (35)Net debt at the end of the financial period (1,579) (1,869) (1,974)(note I) UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 A. Basis of preparation The interim financial statements of GUS plc and its subsidiary undertakings (the"GUS Group") have been prepared in accordance with the Listing Rules of theFinancial Services Authority. There have been no new International FinancialReporting Standards ("IFRS") adopted since 1 April 2006 and accordingly theinformation has been prepared on a consistent basis with that reported for theyear ended 31 March 2006. The GUS Group has chosen not to adopt IAS 34, "Interimfinancial statements", in preparing its 30 September 2006 interim financialstatements and, accordingly, these interim financial statements are not incompliance with IFRS. The GUS Group interim financial statements comprise the results for the sixmonths ended 30 September 2006 and 30 September 2005 and the year ended 31 March2006. The results for the six months ended 30 September 2005 have been extractedfrom the GUS Group's interim report for that period, and have been adjusted toreflect the reclassification of Burberry as a discontinued operation. Thischange was also reflected in the GUS Group's financial statements for the yearended 31 March 2006. In addition, as also indicated therein, some furtheradjustments were made as a result of clearer IFRS interpretation becomingavailable. The comparative figures for the six months ended 30 September 2005have been restated accordingly and the effect of these changes is shown below. GUS Group income statement Six months ended 30 September 2005 Operating Profit Profit for the profit before tax financial period Notes £m £m £m As reported on 17 November 2005 341 348 298 Further adjustments:Reclassification of Burberry (note F) (76) (78) -Adjustment for depreciation on store (i)impairment charges 4 4 4Adjustment for further amortisation of (ii) (4) (4) (4)acquisition intangiblesAdjustment for guaranteed rental (iii) (1) (1) (1)upliftsAs restated 264 269 297 GUS Group balance sheet Net assets 30 September 2005 Notes £mAs reported on 17 November 2005 3,376 Further adjustments:Adjustment for store impairment (i) (20)charges, net of depreciationAdjustment for onerous leases (i) (14)Adjustment for amortisation of (ii) (12)acquisition intangiblesAdjustment for guaranteed rental (iii) (2)upliftsAdjustment for recognition of taxation (iv) (26)liabilitiesAs restated 3,302 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 A. Basis of preparation (continued) Notes: (i) Store impairment charges and onerous leases It had been the policy of Home Retail Group to use a geographic clusteringapproach when looking at whether store assets should be impaired, but emergingpractice required impairment reviews to be performed on a store by store basis.As a result of this change, there was an impairment charge at Homebase of £36m,relating to the balance sheet at 31 March 2004 on transition to IFRS. There wasno impairment charge in the year ended 31 March 2005. The Homebase storeimpairment charge has been determined on a store by store basis by comparing thecarrying value of property, plant and equipment with the net present value oftheir future cash flows. The store impairment charge also triggered therecognition of an onerous lease provision of £14m at 31 March 2005. (ii) £8m of acquisition intangibles have been reclassified from goodwilland these intangibles are now amortised with £4m charged to the Group incomestatement. (iii) The results for the year ended 31 March 2005 were also adjusted asa result of clearer guidance on the accounting treatment of 'Guaranteed RentalUplifts' payable on certain leased premises. Such uplifts are now recognised ona straight line basis over the length of the lease. The effect was to reduce theretained earnings reserve and net assets by £2m at 30 September 2005. There wasa £1m charge to the income statement for the six months ended 30 September 2005. (iv) The tax adjustments relate to the recognition of taxation liabilitieson earlier acquisitions. In the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2006, the GUS Groupseparately reported provisions which comprised certain liabilities of HomeRetail Group. These are also separately reported at 30 September 2006 with thecomparative figures at 30 September 2005 restated accordingly. As a consequence,trade and other payables of £87m, which were reported within current liabilitiesat 30 September 2005, are now reported separately as provisions. Comparative figures for the six months ended 30 September 2005 and the yearended 31 March 2006 have also been restated to be consistent with the treatmentadopted in preparing the historical financial information for the GUS demergercircular. There has been a reallocation of costs between cost of sales andoperating expenses to reflect the policies adopted therein. In addition theclassification of derivatives in the balance sheet at 30 September 2005 and inthe cash flow statements for the six months ended 30 September 2005 and the yearended 31 March 2006 has been revised. The results for the year ended 31 March 2006 have been extracted from the GUSGroup's statutory financial statements for that year. Those financial statementsincorporated the results of GUS plc and its subsidiary undertakings for thefinancial year ended 31 March 2006 with the exception of Homebase where the GUSGroup included its results for the financial year to the end of February. Thiswas done to facilitate comparability to avoid distortions related to the timingof Easter. The financial information shown for the year ended 31 March 2006 doesnot constitute full financial statements within the meaning of section 240 ofthe Companies Act 1985. The full financial statements for that year have beenreported on by the GUS Group's auditors and delivered to the Registrar ofCompanies. The audit report was unqualified and did not contain a statementunder section 237(2) or section 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985. In October 2006, Experian Group Limited became the ultimate holding company ofGUS plc and the separation of Home Retail Group and Experian by way of demergerwas completed. Accordingly, in the Annual Report and Financial Statements ofExperian Group Limited for the year ending 31 March 2007, Home Retail Group willbe reported as a discontinued operation. Home Retail Group has been treated as acontinuing operation for the six months ended 30 September 2006. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 A. Basis of preparation (continued) The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to makeestimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of revenues, expenses,assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities. If in thefuture such estimates and assumptions, which are based on management's bestjudgment at the date of the interim financial statements, deviate from actualcircumstances, the original estimates and assumptions will be modified asappropriate in the period in which the circumstances change. The GUS Group interim financial statements are unaudited but have been reviewedby the auditors. Their report is set out on page 49. B. Segmental information (primary segments) Six months ended 30 September 2006 Continuing operations Home Retail Financial Group Central Total Discontinued Total Argos Homebase Services Total Experian activities continuing operations Group £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m RevenueTotal revenue 1,794 979 47 2,820 908 - 3,728 - 3,728Inter-segment - - - - (6) - (6) - (6)revenue1Revenue fromexternalcustomers 1,794 979 47 2,820 902 - 3,722 - 3,722 ProfitOperating profit 72 41 4 117 170 (93) 194 - 194Group share ofassociates'profit before tax - - - - 16 - 16 - 16Segmental result 72 41 4 117 186 (93) 210 - 210Net interest - - - - - (26) (26) - (26)Financing fairvalueremeasurements - - - - - (7) (7) - (7)Tax expense onshare of profitof associates - - - - (1) - (1) - (1)Profit before tax 72 41 4 117 185 (126) 176 - 176 Group tax expense (52) (8) (60)Profit for the 124 (8) 116financial period Six months ended 30 September 2005 Continuing operations Home Retail Financial Group Central Total Discontinued Total Argos Homebase Services Total Experian activities continuing operations Group £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m RevenueTotal revenue 1,609 966 43 2,618 808 - 3,426 486 3,912Inter-segment - - - - (6) - (6) - (6)revenue1Revenue fromexternalcustomers 1,609 966 43 2,618 802 - 3,420 486 3,906 ProfitOperating profit 59 52 4 115 165 (16) 264 130 394Group share ofassociates'profit before tax - - - - 22 - 22 - 22Segmental result 59 52 4 115 187 (16) 286 130 416Net interest - - - - - (16) (16) 2 (14)Financing fairvalueremeasurements - - - - - (1) (1) - (1)Profit before tax 59 52 4 115 187 (33) 269 132 401 Group tax expense (74) (30) (104)Profit for the 195 102 297financial period 1 Inter-segment revenue represents the provision of services between Experianand Financial Services. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 B. Segmental information (primary segments) (continued) As indicated in note A, the segmental information for the six months ended 30September 2005 has been restated. Discontinued operations comprise thebusinesses Burberry, Lewis and Wehkamp which were all individual segments.Additional information on these segments is shown in note F. Year ended 31 March 2006 Continuing operations Home Retail Financial Group Central Total Discontinued Total Argos Homebase Services Total Experian activities continuing operations Group £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m RevenueTotal revenue 3,893 1,562 93 5,548 1,725 - 7,273 653 7,926Inter-segment - - - - (11) - (11) - (11)revenue1Revenue fromexternalcustomers 3,893 1,562 93 5,548 1,714 - 7,262 653 7,915 ProfitOperating profit 296 39 6 341 342 (29) 654 141 795Group share ofassociates'profit before - - - - 38 - 38 - 38taxSegmental result 296 39 6 341 380 (29) 692 141 833Net interest - - - - - (39) (39) 3 (36)Financing fair - - - - - (3) (3) - (3)valueremeasurementsTax expense on - - - - (1) - (1) - (1)share of profitof associatesProfit before 296 39 6 341 379 (71) 649 144 793tax Group tax (165) (33) (198)expenseProfit for the 484 111 595financial period 1 Inter-segment revenue represents the provision of services between Experianand Financial Services. 2 The Homebase results are for the year ended 28 February 2006. Discontinued operations comprise the businesses Burberry, Lewis and Wehkampwhich were all individual segments. Additional information on these segments isshown in note F. C. Exceptional items Six months to 30 Year to 31 September March 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £mCharge on early vesting of share awards atdemerger of Home Retail Group and Experian 13 - -Other costs incurred relating to the demerger ofHome Retail Group and Experian 63 - 4Costs incurred in the closure of UK Account 15 - -ProcessingTotal exceptional items 91 - 4 Other costs incurred relating to the demerger of Home Retail Group and Experiancomprise legal and professional fees in respect of the transaction, togetherwith costs in connection with the cessation of the corporate functions of GUSplc. On 27 April 2006, Experian announced its phased withdrawal from large scalecredit card and loan account processing in the UK. The full cost of withdrawalof £15m, all of which is cash, has been charged in the six months ended 30September 2006. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 D. Taxation The effective rate of tax based on the profit before tax for the six monthsended 30 September 2006 of £176m (2005: £269m) is 29.5% (2005: 27.5%). The tax expense comprises: Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £mUK taxation 32 56 126Non-UK taxation 20 18 39Total tax expense 52 74 165 E. Foreign currency The principal exchange rates used were as follows: Average Closing Six months to 30 September Year to 31 30 September 31 March March 2006 2005 2006 2006 2005 2006US Dollar 1.84 1.82 1.79 1.87 1.76 1.74Euro 1.46 1.47 1.46 1.48 1.47 1.44 Assets and liabilities of overseas undertakings are translated into sterling atthe rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date and the income statementis translated into sterling at average rates of exchange. F. Discontinued operations (i) The results for discontinued operations were as follows: Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £mRevenue:Burberry - 355 472Wehkamp - 111 161Lewis Group - 20 20 - 486 653 EBIT:Burberry - 76 94Wehkamp - 13 20Lewis Group - 5 5Total EBIT - 94 119Net interest income - 2 3Profit before tax of discontinued operations - 96 122Tax charge in respect of pre-tax profit - (30) (33)Profit after tax of discontinued operations - 66 89 Gains/(losses) on disposal of discontinuedoperations:Gain on Burberry shares - - 10Costs incurred relating to the demerger of - - (5)BurberryLoss on disposal of Wehkamp - - (19)Profit on disposal of Lewis Group - 36 36Gains on disposals - 36 22Tax charge in respect of disposals (8) - -(Loss)/profit after tax on disposals (8) 36 22(Loss)/profit for the financial period fromdiscontinued operations (8) 102 111 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 F. Discontinued operations (continued) In the six months ended 30 September 2006, there was a tax charge in respect oftaxation assets no longer recoverable following earlier disposals. In additionthe GUS Group received the deferred consideration in respect of the disposal ofthe home shopping and Reality businesses of £140m. On 19 May 2005, the GUS Group announced the sale of its remaining 50% interestin Lewis Group Limited and on 13 December 2005 divested its remaining 65%interest in Burberry Group plc. On 19 January 2006, the GUS Group sold Wehkamp,the leading home shopping brand in the Netherlands. As a result, theseoperations have been reclassified as discontinued. (ii) The cash flows attributable to discontinued operations comprise: Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £mFrom operating activities - (32) (43)From investing activities - (38) (122)From financing activities - (7) (8)Exchange and other movements - 3 -Net decrease in cash and cash equivalentsin discontinued operations - (74) (173) G. Basic and diluted earnings per share The calculation of basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing theearnings attributable to ordinary shareholders of GUS plc by the weightedaverage number of Ordinary shares in issue during the period (excluding ownshares held in Treasury and in the ESOP trust, which are treated as cancelled). The calculation of diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilutiveeffect of employee share incentive schemes. The earnings figures used in thecalculations are unchanged for diluted earnings per share. During the prior year the GUS Group demerged its remaining interest in Burberry.This was followed by a share consolidation which reduced the number of GUS plcOrdinary shares in issue to 849m. As a result of the share consolidation theearnings per share numbers are comparable. Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006Basic earnings per share: pence pence penceContinuing operations 14.5 19.8 51.2Discontinued operations (0.9) 8.2 9.0Continuing and discontinued operations 13.6 28.0 60.2 Diluted earnings per share:Continuing operations 14.3 19.5 50.4Discontinued operations (0.9) 8.1 8.8Continuing and discontinued operations 13.4 27.6 59.2 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 G. Basic and diluted earnings per share (continued) Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006Earnings: £m £m £mContinuing operations 124 195 484Discontinued operations (8) 81 85Continuing and discontinued operations 116 276 569 Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006Number of shares in issue: m m mNumber of shares in issue during the period 855.9 986.5 946.7Dilutive effect of share incentive awards 8.3 15.1 15.0Diluted number of shares in issue during the 864.2 1,001.6 961.7period H. Dividends +----------------------------+----------------------------------------+--+------------------+| | Six months to 30 September | | Year to 31 March |+----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+--+---------+--------+| | 2006| 2006| 2005| 2005| | 2006| 2006|| | pence| | pence| | | pence| || | per share| £m|per share| £m| |per share| £m|+----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+--+---------+--------+|Amounts recognised as | | | | | | | ||distributions to equity | | | | | | | ||holders during the period: | | | | | | | |+----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+--+---------+--------+|Interim | -| -| -| -| | 9.6| 82|+----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+--+---------+--------+|Final | 21.9| 188| 20.5| 202| | 20.5| 202|+----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+--+---------+--------+|Ordinary dividends paid on | | | | | | | ||equity shares | 21.9| 188| 20.5| 202| | 30.1| 284|+----------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+--+---------+--------+ These dividends have been recognised and paid as dividends to GUS plcshareholders. No dividend has been declared in respect of the six months ended30 September 2006. I. Analysis of net debt 30 September 31 March 2006 2005 2006 £m £m £mCash and cash equivalents (net of overdrafts) 39 171 80Derivatives hedging loans and borrowings 4 31 46Debt due within one year (757) (312) (29)Finance leases (2) (5) (5)Debt due after more than one year (863) (1,653) (2,066)Net debt at the end of the financial period (1,579) (1,768) (1,974) Continuing operations (1,579) (1,869) (1,974)Discontinued operations - 101 -Net debt at the end of the financial period (1,579) (1,768) (1,974) Net debt is a non-GAAP measure and is calculated as total debt less cash andcash equivalents. Total debt includes loans and borrowings (and the fair valueof derivatives hedging loans and borrowings), overdrafts and obligations underfinance leases. Interest payable on borrowings is excluded from net debt. UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 J. Reconciliation of movements in equity Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 (Restated) (Note A) £m £m £mTotal equity at 1 April 3,132 3,311 3,311Cumulative adjustment for the implementation - 12 12of IAS 39*Balance at 1 April, as restated 3,132 3,323 3,323Profit for the financial period 116 297 595Net (loss)/income recognised directly inequity for the financial period (16) 4 20Employee share option schemes:- value of employee services 27 12 35- proceeds from shares issued 29 16 30Decrease in minority interests arising due tocorporate transactions - (108) (277)Disposal/(purchase) of ESOP shares 3 (33) (16)Equity dividends paid during the period (188) (202) (284)Dividend in specie relating to the demergerof Burberry Group plc - - (287)Dividends paid to minority shareholders - (7) (7)Total equity at the end of the financial 3,103 3,302 3,132period * IAS 39 was adopted on 1 April 2005. K. Cash generated from operations Six months to 30 September Year to 31 March 2006 2005 2006 (Restated) (Restated) (Note A) (Note A) £m £m £mCash flows from operating activities Profit after tax 124 195 484Adjustments for:Group tax expense 52 74 165Share of post-tax profits of associates (15) (22) (37)Net financing costs 33 17 42Operating profit 194 264 654Depreciation and amortisation 156 137 295Gain on disposal of fixed assets and - 1 -non-cash chargesCredit in respect of share incentive schemes 26 12 30Exceptional items included in working 49 - 4capitalChange in working capital 167 50 (60)Cash generated from operations 592 464 923 UNAUDITED NOTES TO THE INTERIM FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the six months ended 30 September 2006 L. Post-employment benefits Following changes introduced by the Finance Act 2004 which took effect from 6April 2006 (A-Day), the principal defined benefit pension schemes operated bythe GUS Group (the GUS Pension Scheme and the Argos Pension Scheme) haveimplemented revised terms for members exchanging pension at retirement date fora tax-free lump sum. With less than six months of experience since A-Day,insufficient time has elapsed as at 30 September 2006 to reliably estimate thechanges in the commutation behaviour of pension scheme members in the longerterm. Accordingly, no effect of this change has been recognised in the interimfinancial statements. M. Related parties Experian companies made net sales and recharges, under normal commercial termsand conditions that would be available to third parties, to First American RealEstate Solutions LLC (an associated undertaking) of £8m in the six months ended30 September 2006 (2005: £6m) and £12m in the year ended 31 March 2006. Therewere no other material transactions with related parties. N. Post balance sheet events On 10 October 2006, Experian Group Limited became the ultimate holding companyof GUS plc and the separation of Home Retail Group and Experian by way ofdemerger was completed. Shares in GUS plc ceased to be listed as part of thedemerger process. Trading in shares in Experian Group Limited on the LondonStock Exchange's market for listed securities commenced on 11 October 2006.Experian Group Limited also raised US$1,447m (£778m) by way of a share offer onthat day. O. Corporate information GUS plc is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in England andduring the period under review was listed on the London Stock Exchange. P. Corporate website The maintenance and integrity of the website on which this report is published,www.experiangroup.com, is the responsibility of the directors. The work carriedout by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and,accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may haveoccurred to the interim report since it was initially presented on the website.Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination offinancial information may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO GUS plc Introduction We have been instructed by the Company to review the financial information forthe six months ended 30 September 2006 which comprises the group interim balancesheet as at 30 September 2006 and the related group interim statements ofincome, cash flows and recognised income and expenses for the six months thenended and related notes. We have read the other information contained in theinterim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements ormaterial inconsistencies with the financial information. Directors' responsibilities The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, isthe responsibility of, and has been approved by the directors. The Listing Rulesof the Financial Services Authority require that the accounting policies andpresentation applied to the interim figures should be consistent with thoseapplied in preparing the preceding annual accounts except where any changes, andthe reasons for them, are disclosed. This interim report has been prepared in accordance with the basis set out inNote A. Review work performed We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A reviewconsists principally of making enquiries of group management and applyinganalytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial dataand, based thereon, assessing whether the disclosed accounting policies havebeen applied. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls andverification of assets, liabilities and transactions. It is substantially lessin scope than an audit and therefore provides a lower level of assurance.Accordingly we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information.This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for theCompany for the purpose of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authorityand for no other purpose. We do not, in producing this report, accept or assumeresponsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this reportis shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by ourprior consent in writing. Review conclusion On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications thatshould be made to the financial information as presented for the six monthsended 30 September 2006. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP London 21 November 2006 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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