Acxiom Profits Climb 46% In Q3

Acxiom Corp. on Wednesday reported that third quarter profits and revenue were on the uptick as major customers of the Little Rock data marketer increased their spending.

"We are pleased that Acxiom delivered another solid performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. This represents our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue and operating income growth," said John Meyer, Acxiom’s CEO. "This quarter’s performance was driven by the continued execution against our strategy and was aided by the general improvement in client spending in our core markets.”

For the period ended Dec. 31, Acxiom reported net income of $20.8 million, up nearly 46 percent from one year ago when the company netted $14.3 million.

Revenue jumped 5.4 percent for the quarter to $299.1 million, compared to $283.8 million a year ago.

During the quarter, Acxiom said it recorded adjustments to earnings due to restructuring and legal accruals totaling $3.6 million. Also, the company reduced a reserve for unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $3.5 million due to the expiration of the related statute of limitations. Both those items increased earnings per share for shareholders by 6 cents.

Ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell, Acxiom shares were trading at $17.62. The Little Rock data marketer is well of its 52-week high of $19.99 in late April of last year, but the company’s shares are up more than 25 percent for the year.