Acxiom’s Third Quarter Results Boosted By One-Time Events

Acxiom Corp. reported revenue of $350.3 million during third-quarter 2007, down slightly from the $352.8 million it realized a year earlier. The company’s operating income was $96.9 million, up from $51.3 million, and its net earnings rose from $24.9 million to $54.7 million. The quarter ended Dec. 31.

The Little Rock, AR-based data firm’s third-quarter operating income and net earnings reflected several one-time expenses and gains during its third quarter. These included:

* A $65 million payment received from Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital after the termination of the firms’ agreement to acquire Acxiom.

* A $2.6 million gain realized from the sale of the software distribution unit of Acxiom’s operations in France.

* A $3 million payment to retiring company leader Charles Morgan.

* $300,000 in transaction costs related to the Silver Lake/ValueAct transaction $800,000 for ongoing restructuring activities in Europe.

“Our revenue and earnings on continuing operations continue to be impacted by the difficulty in the financial services industry, which has resulted in reduced spending by many of our clients,” said Morgan in a statement.

“With many of our largest clients affected by the downturn, it has had a significant impact on an important sector of our business…we took measures to reduce expenses, [but] these measures did not fully offset the reduction in revenue in the third quarter. We expect to experience continued reduced spending from some of our clients, especially in the financial services industry.”

Information Services Division: The division integrates products, services and consulting. Revenue for the quarter was $184.5 million, down 1.7% from third quarter 2006. Operating income for the quarter was $25.6 million, down 32.5% from a year ago.