Equifax said its second quarter profit increased 18 percent from a year ago, to $133 million, thanks to growth across its business units.
The Atlanta credit-tracking firm said revenue rose 20 percent from the year-ago period, to $811 million.
Equifax is one of the three big credit-tracking companies in the United States. The others are TransUnion and Experian.
Part of Equifax' growth was due to its $1.8 billion acquisition last year of Veda, one of the largest credit-reporting firms in Australia and New Zealand. That deal contributed to Equifax' 51 percent jump in its international revenue, to $219 million, compared to last year.
But revenue from Equifax’ employee-screening and other work-related products grew by 21 percent, to $177 million.
Revenue at Equifax’s largest unit, which includes its traditional credit tracking business, increased 3 percent, to $308 million.
In other earnings news Wednesday, Southern Co. said it earned $638 million in the second quarter, up 1 percent from a year ago.
The Atlanta utility company’s results were affected by $44 million in expenses before taxes from its acquisition of Atlanta natural gas utility AGL Resources, now called Southern Company Gas.
Earnings were also hit by a $38 million loss before taxes, tied to its troubled Kemper coal gasification project in Mississippi. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators are looking into how Southern handled its disclosures of cost overruns at the power plant, which aims to make coal a "clean" fuel for generating electricity.
Meanwhile, United Community Banks, based in Blairsville, said its second-quarter profit increased 42 percent over last year’s, to $25.3 million, thanks to acquisitions and growth of its mortgage lending and Small Business Administration-backed loan businesses.
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