Yell Group, which prints the Yellow Pages directories, yesterday reported a decline in revenue growth in the US, citing problems with its acquisition of Transwestern.

Shares in Yell, which had surged 10 per cent since the start of the year, lost 1.85 per cent, closing at 610p yesterday.

But the Reading-based group said it was on track to meet full-year expectations, reporting a 29.1 per cent rise in third-quarter revenues, or 7 per cent excluding acquisitions, to £1.43 billion. The result was less than some analysts expected.

Pretax profits fell £45.3 million to £175.3 million and revenues for printed directories fell as advertising declined because of increased competition. US revenue growth fell 1.8 per cent amid tough competition.

John Condron, chief executive, said yesterday that an exodus in sales staff after Yell bought Transwestern in 2005 for $1.575 billion had resulted in a backlog of US directories.

But a Yell spokesman said: “Transwestern’s integration is progressing well with new sales management in place. We expect market growth in the final quarter to be at similar levels to the third quarter.”

The spokesman reiterated the goal was for Yellow Book to achieve organic growth of 10 per cent in 2007. He said its acquisition of Spain’s TPI, which it renamed Yell Publicidad, was progressing well.

In Britain, a 3.5 per cent rise in revenue to £510 million was driven entirely by the online division Yell.com. Its revenue rose 62.45 per cent. Revenues from printed directories were lower after the number of advertisers fell by 329,000 as competition increased.

Mr Condron said the growth in Yell.com “more than compensated” for the 2.7 per cent decline in revenue from the UK printed directories business to £424.2 million.

He also welcomed the Competition Commission’s decision in December to relax price controls on Yell Group, saying competition from rivals BT Group and Thompson was “constant”.

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