Nielsen Third Quarter Revenues Fall

Q3

NIELSEN HOLDINGS PLC third quarter revenue fell 3.3% year-to-year to $1.563 billion (off 3% on a constant currency basis), with the Global Media division off 3.9% to $836 million (off 4.2% on a constant currency basis), consisting of Audience Measurement (revenues down 1.3% (1.6% constant currency) to $613 million) and Plan/Optimize (decreasing 10.4% (0.6% constant currency) to $223 million).

NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT, in the process of being sold to ADVENT INTERNATIONAL and JIM PECK for $2.7 billion, saw revenues fall 2.5% to $727 million, including Measure revenues falling 1.9% to $520 million and Predict/Activate revenues dropping 4.2% to $207 million. Net income rose from a loss of $472 million to a gain of $7 million (-$1.33 to +$0.02 per diluted share).

CEO DAVID KENNY said, "We delivered strong results in the third quarter, building on our track record of successful execution. All key metrics for both Media and Connect were in-line or ahead of expectations. Our teams moved swiftly to enact our optimization plan, driving operational efficiencies and permanent cost savings. This, in addition to actions taken earlier in the year in response to COVID-19 related revenue pressure, enabled us to drive strong adjusted EBITDA growth and higher free cash flow. We have confidence in our ability to deliver on our objectives and guidance for the full year 2020.  We also announced the sale of the NIELSEN GLOBAL CONNECT business yesterday, which we believe will deliver substantial value to our shareholders sooner than was anticipated through the planned spin-off and create more certainty for all stakeholders.

"We made strong progress on key initiatives in the quarter, particularly cross-media measurement with expansion of our Connected TV footprint to now include YOTUBE and YOUTUBETV.  We continue to focus on expanding our role in the ecosystem, enabling content and measuring outcomes across key advertising categories. As we look forward, we remain focused on executing on our growth strategies that will enable us to better serve our clients."

The company's Board of Directors also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share of common stock, payable on DECEMBER 3rd to shareholders of record as of NOVEMBER 19th.

The company has adjusted full year 2020 guidance upward, setting total revenue growth on a constant currency basis at -4% to -2%, and  Adjusted EBITDA to fall between $1.85 billion and $1.88 billion.

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