• by Wayne Friedman , March 1, 2011

Nielsen Holdings, the parent of The Nielsen Company, reported a sharp decline in profit for the fourth quarter -- mainly caused by retiring some debt.

The new publicly traded company witnessed net income of $4 million, down from $44 million in the previous period. Nielsen took a $90 million charge for retiring debt. Without that, net income, on an adjusted basis grew nearly 9% to $99 million.

Nielsen had revenues of $1.37 billion for the quarter, 5.7% more than the previous fourth-quarter period.

On January 26, the company completed its IPO of 82,142,858 shares at $23 per share -- as well as a bond offering -- for a total of approximately $2.1 billion. The company used the money mainly to repay indebtedness.

Nielsen Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun stated: "We continue to see high growth in developing markets and have accelerated investments in our portfolio of products and services. Our recent public offering will further our focus on growth opportunities and long-term financial performance."

For 2010, Nielsen had a net income of $132 million versus a loss of $489 million in 2009. Cash flow grew substantially. Earnings before interest depreciation, taxes and amortization were $1.32 billion in 2010 versus $572 billion. Revenue was $5.1 billion -- up from $4.8 billion.

NLSN shares closed Monday at $26.59, up $0.60 or 2.31%.