July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Experian Group Ltd., the Dublin-based provider of credit information on more than 300 million people worldwide, posted an increase in fiscal first-quarter sales and said the U.K. financial-services environment is ``tough.''

Total revenue rose 11 percent in the three months ended June 30, Experian said in a statement today. The company didn't provide sales numbers for the period.

Experian reiterated its full-year forecast for revenue growth at existing businesses of between 5 percent and 10 percent, with acceleration into the second half. The company made $1.6 billion of acquisitions in the first quarter to bolster earnings in western Europe and North America, where Experian's Web site that advertises mortgages lost sales.

``There are worrying signs, like the U.K. suffering from interests rates and the U.S. subprime market,'' said Kevin Lapwood, an analyst at Seymour Pierce in London with a ``hold'' rating on the stock.

Shares of Experian fell 0.7 percent to 616 pence in London. The stock has increased 2.8 percent this year, valuing Experian at 6.30 billion pounds ($12.8 billion).

The Bank of England raised its benchmark interest rate to 5.75 percent last week, the fifth increase since last August. Borrowing by U.K. consumers averaged 723 million pounds a month in the first five months of 2007, compared with 1.1 billion pounds a month in all of 2006.

LowerMyBills

British lenders are ``more focused on portfolio management than origination,'' Experian said today. ``The environment for U.K. financial services companies remains tough.''

In the U.K. and Ireland, revenue rose 17 percent in the first quarter. In the U.S., sales at LowerMyBills.com, an Experian Web site that advertises mortgages, fell 20 percent in the quarter from the year-earlier period.

The share of U.S. subprime mortgages entering default in the first quarter was the highest in almost five years, according to the U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association, as the country had its biggest house-price decline since the 1930s.

``The hit from the subprime mortgage market in the U.S. is quite worrying,'' Seymour Pierce's Lapwood said.

Experian's sales in the Americas climbed 8 percent in the quarter on gains in auto and consumer credit services.

Sales in the Asia Pacific region and Europe outside the U.K. and Ireland climbed 17 percent.

Brazil, China

Acquisitions contributed 1 percent to sales growth in the period. Experian bought a majority stake in Serasa, Brazil's biggest credit bureau, for 2.32 billion reais ($1.2 billion) on June 28.

In March, the company bought a minority stake in Sinotrust, a Chinese business information company. During the last fiscal year, it signed a consulting contract with the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.

Rising wealth in nations such as Brazil and China is driving demand for credit information in emerging markets.

The company, spun off from British retailer GUS Plc in October, employs more than 12,500 people in 30 countries according to its Web site. The company competes with U.S.-based Equifax Inc. and Marmon Group Inc.'s TransUnion LLC.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lenka Ponikelska in London lponikelska@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 12, 2007 12:06 EDT