GfK sees 9.8% rise in nine-month sales to almost €1.1bn

The group pinned the fall in adjusted operating income on €11m-worth of investments made to “expand and secure business”. In the Consumer Choices business line, for instance, GfK said it invested heavily in the expansion of technological systems for new products such as the Network Intelligence Solution (NIS) project. In the Consumer Experiences side of the business, meanwhile, the company spent €2.4m to set up in Korea and launch a panel in Turkey.

GfK said sales growth was particularly strong in the Asia Pacific region, up 16% organically. Latin America was up 10.1% and the south and west of Europe also grew on an organic basis, especially in the third quarter, the company said.

North America grew 2.4% organically – but on a reported basis, thanks to the acquisition of Knowledge Networks, sales for the first nine months totalled €196.8m up 34%.

GfK is forecasting sales of around €1.5bn for the full year, a 9% increase on 2011.

Matthias Hartmann (pictured), CEO of GfK, said: “Our strategic focus on the requirements of clients with global activities is proving a success. We expand in countries that represent the future for our clients and this enables us to substantially increase sales and build up our market position in these growth markets.”