The Nielsen Company Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results

New York, USA – The Nielsen Company B.V., a leading global information and media company, today announced its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2009.

Reported revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2009 were $1,227 million, a decrease of 6% over reported revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2008 of $1,304 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations*, revenues for the three months increased 1%.

Reported operating income for the three months ended June 30, 2009 was $184 million compared to $169 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008. These results were negatively impacted by $6 million and $9 million of charges relating to restructuring costs, respectively. Adjusting for these items, operating income, on a constant currency basis*, increased 15%.

Reported revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2009 were $2,360 million, a decrease of 6% over reported revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2008 of $2,518 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations*, revenues for the six months increased 1%.

Reported operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2009 was $293 million compared to $284 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008. These results were negatively impacted by $11 million and $16 million of charges relating to restructuring costs, respectively. Adjusting for these items, operating income, on a constant currency basis*, increased 10%.

Covenant earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and other adjustments permitted under our senior secured credit facilities (“Covenant EBITDA”) was $1,292 million for the twelve month period ended June 30, 2009. Covenant EBITDA is a non – GAAP measure. See “Covenant EBITDA” below for a reconciliation of Loss from continuing operations of $460 million for the twelve months ended June 30, 2009 to Covenant EBITDA.

As of June 30, 2009, total debt was $8,714 million, and cash balances were $386 million. Capital expenditures were $132 million for the six months ended June 30, 2009, compared with $171 million for the six months ended June 30, 2008.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Nielsen Company will hold an earnings conference call, hosted by The Nielsen Company’s Chief Financial Officer Brian J. West, at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Thursday, August 13, 2009. The call will be audio-webcast live at http://en-us.nielsen.com/main/about/investor_relations and an archive will be available on the website after the call. In addition, a link to the company’s quarterly financial report on Form 10-Q has been posted at http://en-us.nielsen.com/main/about/investor_relations.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release includes information that could constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as ‘expect’, ‘should’, ‘could’, ‘shall’ and similar expressions. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and events could differ materially from what presently is expected. Factors leading thereto may include without limitations general economic conditions, conditions in the markets Nielsen is engaged in, behavior of customers, suppliers and competitors, technological developments, as well as legal and regulatory rules affecting Nielsen’s business. This list of factors is not intended to be exhaustive. We assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information, future events, or other factors.

NOTE: Additional detail regarding results (tables, etc.), can be found in the PDF download version of this release.

* Constant currency growth rates eliminate the impact of year-over-year foreign currency fluctuations.
About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.