Acxiom expects first quarter revenue to fall by a fifth as clients delay projects

by Noelle McElhatton, marketingdirectmag.co.uk 25-Jun-09, 12:03

LONDON - Database giant Acxiom has said it expects its fiscal first-quarter revenue to fall as much as 21 per cent as clients delay or cancel marketing projects.

For the three months ending on Tuesday, the company expects revenue between $245 million and $255 million.

"The outlook for revenue in the near term remains challenging," said Acxiom president and CEO John Meyer. "We continue to feel the effects of market consolidation, as well as clients continuing to defer decisions on their marketing spending or canceling programmes, both of which have an effect on our revenue and our ability to estimate revenue."

Shares in the company tumbled on the announcement.

Earlier this week Meyer has told a chamber of commerce meeting in the US that the recession has hit the database company's bedrock financial service client base hard, but that $350m of new business would help ensure job security for Acxiom's 2,000-plus Arkansas based employees.

Meyer was addressing a chamber of commerce meeting in the US and said he believes the 2,300 Arkansas-based employees of the database marketer will have job security, despite the recession.

Acxiom’s global headquarters are in Conway, Arkansas and the company is one of the region’s biggest employers. The company, one of the top four database firms in the world, also has offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Meyer, speaking at a Conway (Arkansas) Chamber of Commerce lunch, said that the recent signing of about $350 million in new business is for a segment of Acxiom’s business performed at its Conway base.

But according to the Arkansas News, Meyer went on to admit that the recession has hit Acxiom’s financial customers hard and that he does not see an end in sight.

He noted a decline in ad-hoc projects and marketing campaigns, which account for some 25 percent of the database giant’s business.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph published in April this year, Meyer described Acxiom as "the biggest company you've never heard of".

Meyer became CEO and president of Acxiom in February last year after senior management roles at technology companies Alcatel-Lucent and EDS.

He succeeded Charles Morgan, a 35-year company veteran who was chairman and chief executive officer since 1975.