Order intake comparison base will remain very challenging for at least the first and second quarters.

Publicis achieved a solid but not a revolutionary quarter, helped by an easy comparison base.

The present rate of inflation is a result of tighter food supply, greater global demand for oil and a low comparison base,' it said.

South Korea's top commercial lender is expected to report its quarterly profit more than doubled, but largely due to a low comparison base last year.

The comparison base for September was more challenging that August so we assume that a deterioration took place through the period.

These targets now look very ambitious, despite a more flattering earnings comparison base in the second half,' said French broker Oddo Securities.

Table 20 Segment Comparison Base:

We expect a slower pace of price growth due to an anticipated good harvest, a stronger currency and the statistical effect of a growing comparison base.' '

China's exports were expected to have grown strongly in year-on-year terms thanks to the dual effect of a low comparison base and stronger demand as the global economy recovers.

In December, a top Baidu executive told Reuters that he saw growth moderating in 2011 due to a higher comparison base and a lack of unique catalysts.

Furthermore European LFLs remained weak (-7.6% vs DBe -3%) despite an easing comparison base and the Netherlands has slipped into losses for H1.

If the comparison base is the total of more than 2,100 libraries that participated in any one of the three years of the Program, then the three-year response rate is only 60%.

"The fourth quarter GDP figure shows very strong growth, indicating the recovery momentum has been further consolidated, although the big rebound was partly due to a low comparison base in the same period a year earlier.

We believe inflation would reach its peak soon in the third quarter on the back of easing oil prices and as a higher comparison base a year ago kicks in from September,' Usara said. '

"Despite a challenging comparison base, Ctrip has continued to outperform the industry with solid growth in the third quarter of 2011," said Min Fan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ctrip.

The improved gains in April were caused by the low comparison base in the same month a year earlier, Yu Jianxun, an official from the bureau's industrial department, said in a statement accompanying the data.

This does not reflect expected growth for this business line over the full year, given the comparison base created by particularly strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2007 (+124.6% compared with the first quarter of 2006).

The comparison base in the Netherlands will be tougher, where Ahold's flagship chain Albert Heijn has consistently outperformed the market in recent quarters, but analysts on average still expect identical sales growth of 6 percent. '

Xing Ziqiang, an economist at China International Capital said: "The annual fall in exports is caused by the abnormally high comparison base last July, when factories rushed to deliver their export orders before the Olympic Games."

Dexia analyst Rob Goyens said in a research note that the revenue guidance might appear challenging in view of the first-quarter results, but regulatory pressure would abate later in the year leading to a more favourable comparison base. '

Although the stock is trading on high multiples (see table below) we think this captures the group's capacity to generate 7% organic growth (as indeed it did in the first four months of this year) despite a difficult macro context and a high comparison base.

FACTORS TO WATCH: China is expected to return to double-digit economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, partly due to a low comparison base in the fourth quarter of 2008, when GDP growth dipped to 6.8 percent.