D&B Reports Strong 2004 Results; Expects Continued Strength in 2005.

Extract

---

D&B Reports Strong 2004 Results; Expects Continued Strength in 2005.

SHORT HILLS, N.J. -- D&B (NYSE:DNB)

--2004 EPS Up 17% Before Non-Core Gains and Charges, GAAP EPS Up 26%

--2004 Core Revenue Up 10%, Up 8% Before Foreign Exchange Including 7% Organic Growth

--2004 Total Revenue Up 2% on a GAAP Basis, Down 1% Before Foreign Exchange Due to the Impact of Divested International Businesses

--2004 Free Cash Flow Up 16%

--Outlines Plans to Create $70 to $80 Million of Financial Flexibility in 2005

--Announces $400 Million Two-Year Share Repurchase Program

D&B (NYSE:DNB), the leading provider of global business information, tools and business insight, today reported results for the fourth quarter and full year 2004.

"Our performance in 2004 reflects strong organic revenue and free cash flow growth and another year of double-digit earnings growth," said Steve Alesio, President and Chief Executive Officer of D&B. "We achieved these results by leveraging the three foundational elements of our Blueprint strategy: a Brand that offers customers a compelling value proposition, a Flexible Business Model that provides us with funds to invest for growth, and our Winning Culture that develops the leadership potential of our team members. With this strong foundation, I am confident 2005 will be another successful year for D&B."

Fourth Quarter 2004 Results

Diluted earnings per share before non-core gains and charges for the quarter ended December 31, 2004, were $1.12, up 14 percent from $0.98 in the prior year quarter. On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share were $1.04, up 6 percent from $0.98 in the prior year quarter.

See attached Schedule 3 for a reconciliation of earnings per share before non-core gains and charges to earnings per share on a GAAP basis.

Core revenue for the quarter was $381.7 million, up 8 percent compared with the prior year quarter. Core revenue was up 6 percent before the effect of foreign exchange with all of the increase due to organic growth.

Core revenue results for the 2004 fourth quarter reflected the following by product line:

--Risk Management Solutions revenue of $228.2 million, up 9 percent (up 6 percent before the effect of foreign exchange);

--Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue of $127.2 million, up 6 percent (up 5 percent before the effect of foreign exchange);

--Supply Management Solutions revenue of $12.3 million, down 18 percent (down 19 percent before the effect of foreign exchange); and

--E-Business Solutions revenue of $14.0 million represented the results of Hoover's, Inc., up 39 percent (including 31 points of growth before the effect of purchase accounting on 2003 results).

See attached Schedules 4 and 5 for additional detail.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $387.5 million, down 4 percent...

See the full content of this document

---