VNU, the world's largest market research firm, topped expectations with 7 percent first-half profit growth on Wednesday, helped by one-time tax gains and a swing to higher revenue at its key TV and retail tracking units.
Its shares were the biggest gainers among Amsterdam's blue chips, up 1.2 percent at 20.94 euros by 1405 GMT, rebounding from 17-month lows set on Monday. VNU outperformed other European media stocks, whose index was down 0.9 percent.
The Netherlands-based company provided its first 2004 outlook, forecasting growth in underlying profit, which excludes one-off items and goodwill, of 7 to 9 percent at constant currencies this year and 4 to 5 percent revenue growth.
"It was a very good set of numbers that beat expectations, even when you strip out the one-time tax gain," said Eureffect asset manager Gert Jan Geels. "What is most important here is that they have given us a specific outlook."
First-half revenue grew 9 percent for its marketing information unit, which tracks consumer spending habits, and 7 percent for its media measurement division, which counts television watchers.
"That organic growth for these two groups is the highest figure which VNU has achieved in its history," VNU's Chief Financial Officer Frans Cremers said.
VNU, which also publishes Hollywood Reporter and Billboard magazines, saw its first-half underlying profit rise 7 percent to 215 million euros ($264 million), or 0.84 euros per share. Excluding currency effects the increase was 17 percent.
Net profit was 91 million euros.
VNU is vulnerable to the dollar's weakness against the euro because half of its turnover and 60 percent of its operating profit come from US-based units, including dominant TV ratings firm Nielsen Media Research and retail sales tracker ACNielsen.
But the currency effect was partly mitigated by a one-time tax gain of 14 million euros.
Analysts had on average expected a profit of 182.5 million euros, according to a Reuters poll.
VNU said the sale of its phone directories unit, which is expected to fetch more than 2 billion euros, should be completed by year-end.
"The bidders are in the midst of due diligence. We're well on track," Chief Executive Rob van den Bergh said in an interview.
Sources close to the process told Reuters last month that five private equity bidders, including The Blackstone Group and Carlyle, had moved into the second round of take-over talks.
Asked about the unit's price tag, Van den Bergh said: "My wife says I'm a pessimist so I'm always on the careful side. I'm more interested to close the deal quickly, and I think we're confident we'll get a reasonable price."
VNU's business information unit was hurt by weak advertising spending. The firm, which said it expects US and European advertising revenues to "bottom out" for the rest of the year, was less optimistic than some of its publishing peers, which have predicted a small rebound in the second half.
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