REG - Bango PLC - Bango FY24 Final Results
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RNS Number : 7095L Bango PLC 06 June 2025
Bango PLC
("Bango" or the "Company")
2024 Full Year Results and Outlook
Cambridge, UK, 6 June 2025 - Bango (AIM: BGO), today announces its full year
results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024 and provides an update on
current trading and outlook for 2025.
FY24 Financial Overview:
Results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024 FY24 FY23 YoY Change
Transactional Revenue(1) $36.2M $32.7M +11%
DVM & One Off Revenue(2) $17.2M $13.4M +28%
Total Revenue $53.4M $46.1M +16%
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) (3) $14.0M $8.8M +59%
Net Retention(4) 125% 137%
Adjusted EBITDA(5) $15.3M $6.4M +139%
Loss After Tax ($3.7M) ($8.8M) $5.1M
Net (debt)/cash at 31 December(6) ($1.8M) ($4.0M) $2.2M
FY24 Operational highlights:
· 9 new Digital Vending Machine® (DVM(TM)) license customers (total 27 at end
of 2024)
· 110 content providers connected to the DVM, up from 93 at the end of 2023
· Launched Disney+ with Continente - Portugal's largest high-street retailer, in
only 12 weeks from first customer contact
· First two DVM CX (user interface) customers signed, including Altice in the US
· First Eastern European DVM customer signed
Post period-end
Digital Vending Machine®
· 6 new DVM customers to date in 2025, including:
o New US wins mean the Bango DVM now serves 6 out of the top 8 US communication
providers (by subscriber count)
o First DVM customer in South Korea - leading Telco selected Bango DVM for
bundling
o New DVM Telco customer in Benelux marks the first win from an improved Western
Europe DVM pipeline
· First customer launch of the Bango DVM CX (user interface) with Altice in the
US. The DVM CX reduces the effort for resellers when launching bundled offers,
allowing them to launch much faster. It is sold as an additional license fee.
· DVM is on track to once again deliver double digit revenue growth in-line with
consensus(7).
Transactional
· 98% of traffic acquired with DOCOMO Digital has been migrated to the Bango
platform
· The high cost of sales routes acquired from DOCOMO Digital have experienced
volatility and are below expectation however, given the margin profile of
these routes, there is minimal impact to EBITDA. Work to optimize or
restructure these routes is ongoing.
· Bango has disconnected several small, unprofitable routes since the DOCOMO
Digital acquisition and continues to launch selected new routes where there is
significant growth potential.
· Core Transactional revenue (excluding the high cost of sales routes) is
in-line with expectations.
Financing
· Bango has secured financing which will be used to strengthen the balance sheet
and provide further flexibility on the timing of cost reductions.
o Bango has secured an enhanced loan facility from NHN. Under the agreement, the
existing loan will increase by $2.85M and include a deferral of principal
repayments for 18 months (further information can be found detailed in the RNS
announcement published earlier today titled, 'Loan Agreement and Related Party
Transaction').
o In addition, Bango has secured a $15M Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) with
NatWest. This provides a committed, long-term financing solution that will
replace the existing £3M overdraft from Barclays.
Efficiency Initiatives
· Bango expects to report FY25 Adj. EBITDA in-line with consensus(7)
· Further efficiencies are expected to result in a modest increase to Adj.
EBITDA vs consensus(7) in FY26 of $1M.
· A reduction in R&D capital expenditure versus current consensus(7), of
$0.5M in FY25 and $1M in FY26 is planned.
Board changes
· As separately announced, (See 'Directorate Change' RNS published today), Anil
Malhotra and Frank Bury will formally step down from the Board at the
conclusion of the AGM on 30 June 2025.
Investor Presentation:
Bango is hosting a presentation, open to all existing and potential
shareholders, at 10.30am BST today. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet
Company for free and register to join the call here:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/bango-plc/register-investor
(https://www.investormeetcompany.com/bango-plc/register-investor)
Bango CEO, Paul Larbey, said:
"2024 was a pivotal year for Bango, marked by strong revenue growth, a
significant increase in profitability, and strategic progress across both our
Digital Vending Machine® and Payments businesses. We delivered a 16% increase
in total revenue and more than doubled Adjusted EBITDA to $15.3M, reflecting
the operational leverage of our platform and disciplined cost management. The
DVM continues to gain global traction, with 9 new customers added during the
year and a strong pipeline rapidly converting in 2025 with 6 new wins
including our first customer in South Korea.
With tens of millions of subscriptions already managed, and the scalability to
support hundreds of millions more, Bango is uniquely placed to benefit from
the structural shift toward subscription-based services and indirect
distribution models. Increasingly, the Bango DVM is becoming the standard
platform for subscription bundling - not just in capability, also in
reputation. It's the solution recommended by some of the world's largest
content providers when their partners want to scale subscriptions and build
customer engagement, and now serves 6 of the top 8 US communication service
providers. This positions Bango at the very heart of the global subscription
economy.
In the Payments business, Bango continues to have a leading position in the
market and remains the largest Direct Carrier Billing partner for the Google
Play store, the only partner powering DCB for the Amazon store in Japan and
the sole provider of online DCB services to NTT DOCOMO Japan - the largest
operator, in the most valuable DCB market. With the migration of traffic from
the DOCOMO Digital platform to the Bango platform we are optimizing our
Payments business for cash and profitability by simplifying operations.
The financing provided by NatWest and NHN demonstrate strong confidence in
Bango's business model & strategic plan and materially strengthens the
balance sheet. The decision to make the strategic investment in DVM coupled
with the market growth in "Super bundling" are driving a strong sales
pipeline. This combined with disciplined cost management, a reduction in
R&D capex and the inherent operational leverage of our platform will
deliver a step-change in cash generation in FY26 and drive shareholder
returns. We view the future opportunity with both confidence and excitement."
Notes:
The Annual Report, including full accounts, is available
at, https://bangoinvestor.com/results-reports
(https://bangoinvestor.com/results-reports) , and will be sent to shareholders
shortly.
(1) Transactional Revenue is revenue derived by charging a percentage of the
retail price paid by the consumer and is made up of carrier billing, resale
and e-Disti revenue share amounts.
(2) DVM & One Off Revenue includes all DVM license and support fees,
revenue from Bango Audiences (discontinued in Q1 FY24) and one off fees
including DVM set-up and change requests.
(3)Annual Recurring Revenue is the expected annual revenues to be generated in
the next 12 months
based on contracted revenues recognized as at 31 December.
(4) Net Retention is a measure of the retention and expansion of revenue from
existing customers over a specific period and is calculated by dividing the
ARR from existing customers at the end of a period by the ARR generated from
those same customers at the beginning of the period.
(5)Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation,
amortization, negative goodwill, exceptional items and share based payment
charge.
(6)Net debt is cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments less
loans and borrowings.
(7)Current consensus market expectations prior to today's announcement.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain. The person
responsible for making this announcement on behalf of Bango is Paul Larbey,
Chief Executive Officer.
For further information, please contact:
Investor questions on this announcement https://bangoinvestor.com/s/2a69da (https://bangoinvestor.com/s/2a69da)
We encourage all investors to share questions
on this announcement via our investor hub
Bango PLC +44 1223 617 387
Paul Larbey, CEO
Matt Wilson, CFO
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Broker) +44 20 7496 3000
Jen Boorer
Asha Chotai
About Bango
Bango enables content providers to reach more paying customers through global
partnerships. Bango revolutionized the monetization of digital content and
services, by opening-up online payments to mobile phone users worldwide.
Today, the Digital Vending Machine® is driving the rapid growth of the
subscriptions economy, powering choice and control for subscribers.
The world's largest content providers, including Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google
(NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) trust Bango technology to reach
subscribers everywhere.
Bango, where people subscribe. For more information,
visit www.bangoinvestor.com
Subscribe to our news alert service: https://bangoinvestor.com/auth/signup
(https://bangoinvestor.com/auth/signup)
Chair's Statement
2024 was a year of significant progress for Bango. In a rapidly evolving
subscription economy, we have strengthened our leadership position, expanded
our capabilities, and delivered solid financial performance. This success
reflects the skill, resilience, and ambition of the Bango team as we navigate
opportunities and challenges alike.
The subscription economy is growing at an extraordinary pace, with billions of
active subscriptions and a fundamental shift toward subscription-based models.
Bango sits at the heart of this transformation, leading the way in
subscription bundling - an emerging trend that helps users to manage
subscriptions seamlessly and enables content providers to gain new customers
efficiently.
At the core of this growth is the Digital Vending Machine® (DVM™) from
Bango, which powers subscription bundling for some of the world's largest
Telcos and content partners. Our momentum is accelerating - three of the top
five US Telcos have already chosen DVM, and deployments continue worldwide. In
December 2024, DVM drove recurring revenue exceeding $14M per year, and we see
a clear trajectory toward over $100M per year as more subscriptions flow
through the platform.
Alongside the DVM, our Payments business remains a vital part of the Bango
commercial model. Processing billions of dollars of payments, the Direct
Carrier Billing (DCB) business is trusted and cash-generative, integrated with
over 100 Telco billing and wallet systems. As one of only two global market
leaders in DCB, Bango is capitalizing on prior investments to drive
exceptional performance for our customers. In 2024, we made significant
strides toward our target of 50%+ EBITDA margins in DCB, benefiting from the
integration of DOCOMO Digital.
With the complexities of acquisition, platform migrations, and restructuring
largely behind us, Bango is now fully focused on accelerating growth. The
upcoming switch-off of legacy systems marks the completion of a demanding
phase, allowing us to concentrate entirely on scaling DVM and maximizing value
from our DCB foundation. As we move forward, we are committed to providing
clear, transparent financial insights to ensure investors understand how we
are driving shareholder value in both the near and long term.
We strengthened our leadership team in 2024 with the appointment of Matt
Wilson as CFO and by welcoming Tony Perkins to the Board as Audit Chair and
Senior Independent Director. Their deep financial expertise enhances our
ability to execute effectively and reinforces our commitment to strong
governance and strategic execution.
Anil Malhotra and Frank Bury will not be seeking re-election to the Bango PLC
Board at the June 2025 AGM. Anil will be focusing all his energy and extensive
AI credentials on helping Telcos and others leverage the unique data the DVM
gathers, helping increase its value and importance to the subscription
industry. I would like to thank Frank for his invaluable contributions,
excellent guidance and counsel to Bango as a NED since 2019 and as a
supportive shareholder.
Looking ahead, the Board remains focused on three core priorities:
· Demonstrating clear financial progress - increasing free cash
flow while maintaining disciplined cost management.
· Expanding our leadership in subscription bundling - growing the
number of subscriptions flowing through DVM.
· Strengthening competitive barriers - ensuring Bango remains the
market leader as subscription bundling scales globally.
2024 tested our agility and resilience, but the Bango team has demonstrated
its ability to adapt, innovate, and deliver. With a high caliber team, clear
strategy, strong execution, and an expanding market opportunity, I am
confident that Bango will continue to thrive, creating lasting value for our
shareholders, customers, and employees.
Ray Anderson
Chair
CEO Statement
Bango operates two distinct product lines that share a common technology stack
and customer base but differ in revenue model and growth dynamics which,
together, made 2024 a year of both growth and optimization at Bango.
Digital Vending Machine® (DVM™): The Bango DVM enables subscription
services to scale through major distribution channels including telcos,
retailers, banks and others. Subscription services are increasingly delivered
to consumers through these indirect channels, in the form of bundles and
offers, enabled by the DVM.
By connecting once to the DVM, a content provider becomes part of a large and
expanding network of resellers. Equally, a reseller connected to the DVM
becomes part of an ecosystem of over one hundred content providers. This
unique position makes Bango THE place that the world's largest companies come
to for bundling.
The DVM is a powerful technology that is continually evolving to make bundling
simple and powerful. The DVM, while still early in its evolution, has the
characteristics to become the defacto standard for subscription bundling.
Payments/Transactional: Bango was an early innovator in Direct Carrier Billing
(DCB), a payment method that enables consumers to charge purchases directly to
their mobile phone bill. Everything from paying for bags of gems in the Google
Play store to buying duffel bags from Amazon in Japan can be paid for via DCB.
Bango has a leading position in this market. Bango is the largest DCB partner
in the Google Play store, the only partner Amazon use for DCB in Japan and the
sole provider of online DCB services to NTT DOCOMO - the largest operator, in
the largest DCB market in the world.
Bango generates revenue from payments by charging a percentage of the retail
price for processing the transaction. The DCB market is expected to grow
steadily and the Bango payments business will grow with the market.
Strategy for Growth
In my 2024 interim statement, I described the four pillars driving our
strategy for growth:
· Extract: Manage the payments business for cash and profit
· Expand: Lead the bundling of subscription services through telco channels
· Enhance: Use data to differentiate Bango and monetize content providers
· Explore: Identify new bundling opportunities outside telcos
Below I set out the progress made in 2024 against each pillar.
Extract: Manage the payments business for cash and profit
The payments business continues to perform well, growing 11% in 2024 vs 2023.
The fastest growing routes were in Asia and MEA, which Bango acquired with
DOCOMO Digital (DDL). These routes operate on lower margin contracts,
affecting overall gross profitability in the payments business. Work to
optimize or restructure these contracts is ongoing.
Bango has disconnected a number of small, unprofitable routes since the DOCOMO
Digital acquisition but continues to launch selected new routes where there is
significant growth potential.
The migration of the routes from the DDL platform to the Bango Platform is
largely complete, with the final route migrations planned to complete in 1H
2025, allowing us to close the physical data centre we acquired in Frankfurt.
We have reorganized the sales and account management teams to separate
payments and DVM. This provides an increased focus on profitable growth.
Expand: Lead the bundling of subscription services through telco channels
Telcos are the primary channel used by content providers to distribute
subscription services. Omdia estimates that in 2024, 418M digital content
subscriptions are distributed by Telcos. Early, bilateral integrations were
completed directly between a Telco and content provider. As more subscription
services become available and Telcos add more content providers to their
consumer propositions, these direct integrations no longer make economic sense
and face increasing technical complexity, limiting the ability to create
targeted multi content bundles - enter the Digital Vending Machine from Bango.
In 2024, the global growth of the DVM continued. 9 new customer wins in 2024
brought the total DVM customers to 27 at 31 Dec 2024.
· Entering 2024, Bango already powered 3 of the top 5 US Telcos.
During 2024, the growth continued across North America with the DVM expanding
to regional Telcos and cable companies, many of whom have millions of
customers. With the decline in large PayTV packages these communications
companies have struggled to retain their subscribers. Super bundling provides
an ideal mechanism for these businesses to remain competitive, and to retain
and grow subscriber numbers. Time to market is as important as reducing the
work required by their internal IT teams. The R&D investment into new
capabilities, such as the user interface (CX) and offer management, proved
critical in securing new DVM customers, further differentiating Bango from the
competition.
· In LATAM existing customers continued to launch new bundles,
expanding quickly. A number of new, large Telcos made significant progress
towards launching super bundling with DVM.
· Europe continues to lag the Americas. After two early customer
wins with BT and Liberty Global, momentum has been slow in Western Europe.
However, in 2024, we signed our first customer in Eastern Europe and in Q1
2025 signed an agreement with an operator in Western Europe - early signs that
momentum is building.
· APAC is a very diverse region. However, the overall number of
opportunities is growing. In 2024, we signed new customers (our first DVM
customers outside Australia). The 2025 pipeline is strong, and the product
investments made to simplify the integration into pre-pay markets has
opened-up new opportunities.
Growth from existing customers is high, as evidenced by a Net Revenue
Retention of 125%, which measures the growth in license revenue for customers
who were active at the end of 2023. We expect this to continue as large
customers accelerate and start to move through the license tiers as they
manage more subscriptions through the DVM.
Today, Bango manages tens of millions of subscriptions, generating tens of
millions of dollars in revenue. However, DVM subscriptions are growing fast as
existing customers launch more services to more users. Late in 2024, the first
Tier 1 Telco moved out of the first license fee tier into the (higher price)
second tier.
Bango estimates that around 600 million subscriptions could be managed by
super bundling platforms in 2029. The platform itself has been tested to
support much higher volumes without significant additional capex or opex, to
ensure it can accommodate the growth in the market that Telcos have indicated.
For example, the Verizon CEO stated at a recent UBS Media Conference:
"Our ambition is to have more than 50% of our customers on myPlan. It's the
quickest or fastest-growing service product we have had for wireless
consumers…"
With the average US household having 5.4 subscriptions this could lead to tens
(if not hundreds) of millions of subscriptions being managed by the Bango DVM
from Verizon alone.
Enhance: Use data to differentiate Bango and monetize content providers
The Bango DVM provides significant benefit to content providers, many of whom
use the Bango platform to connect to resellers with no direct cost - the DVM
license fee being paid by the reseller. While the DVM is the leading solution
- and rapidly becoming the standard - for creating subscription bundles, the
potential value extends far beyond bundling connections.
"Enhance" is the newest growth pillar but has enormous potential. In 2024, we
appointed Marisa Teh as Chief Product Officer to accelerate innovation in this
area. Our current focus is on harnessing the rich insights within the Bango
platform to help content providers understand, benchmark, predict, and
influence subscriber growth for their bundled offers.
By delivering powerful analytics and targeting opportunities through the DVM,
we can enable content providers to scale faster and optimize their business
strategies.
The aim of this investment is to unlock the holy grail of any platform
business - the ability to generate value from both sides of the platform -
resellers and content providers. By leveraging data to drive subscriber
engagement and growth, we are creating new revenue opportunities for content
providers while strengthening the entire marketplace.
Explore: Identify new bundling opportunities outside telcos
While Telco is the largest vertical for super bundling, the Bango DVM is
agnostic to the reseller, the same product powers retailers, banks and other
resellers, as it does Telcos. The Bango DVM's flexibility was demonstrated
when Continente, Portugal's largest retailer, launched Disney+ bundles just 12
weeks after a referral from Disney - despite Continente having no prior
subscription bundling experience.
Non-Telco verticals are not new to Bango. We launched employee benefits
provider Benefit One in Japan in February 2023, and have powered bundles with
US retailers Sams Club and Best Buy for a number of years. However, there is a
new trend to move beyond offering one or two basic bundles to a more
comprehensive subscription marketplace. This is DVM territory, and we have
started to build a pipeline of opportunities in both financial services and
retail.
Another interesting observation is the trend for content providers to connect
to both sides of the DVM, using the DVM to connect to resellers and also using
the DVM to bundle complementary content with their own subscription services.
(e.g. Sirius XM who are bundling other content service such as Fox Nation with
their own music service) again this is something the existing DVM makes
seamless.
Summary
At Bango, we are creating something truly exceptional with the DVM. It solves
real problems for consumers, content providers and resellers, as highlighted
when the Japanese publication Nikkei selected Super Bundling as one of their
top two trends for 2025.
The growth path is clear, the market opportunity is clear and the DVM is the
right product to capture the opportunity.
The payments business continues to be a strong bedrock, providing the profit
and cash for us to continue to build resilience and invest in the DVM.
The DOCOMO Digital acquisition has been complicated but solidified our
position as a leader in the DCB market, creating significant economies of
scale. With the acquisition integration largely complete, and with growing DVM
recurring revenue, Bango is positioned to further extend its market leadership
and deliver significant value to shareholders.
Outlook
We have seen a strong start to 2025. In the first quarter of the year we added
4 new DVM customers compared with an average of 9 per annum for the prior 2
years. The revenue from these 4 new customers in FY25 will amount to over 50%
of the total new DVM revenue we added in 2024. The growth continued in Q2 with
additional wins including our first ever contract in South Korea where a
leading Telco has adopted the DVM to support their bundling strategy.
The core of the transactional business is growing as expected however the
lower margin routes are experiencing some volatility though the margin profile
of these routes means that there is no impact to profitability.
With a stronger balance sheet (as a result of the NHN loan extension and the
$15M RCF) Bango has more flexibility to manage the business while providing
increased comfort to our large partners. This flexibility will allow further
cost reductions to be accelerated delivering increasing cash and profitability
in line with consensus in 2025 with further profitability upside in 2026.
Paul Larbey
Chief Executive Officer
CFO Statement
I am thrilled to have recently joined Bango and look forward to supporting the
team's strategic ambitions and driving value for our stakeholders. As newly
appointed CFO, my focus is on driving sustainable growth, strengthening our
balance sheet, optimizing costs and ensuring that every investment
consolidates Bango leadership in subscription bundling.
I am pleased to report that FY24 was a transformational year for Bango. We
delivered double-digit revenue growth, a significant EBITDA improvement and a
strong 2H performance that underscores our continued progress and resilience.
Net debt (excluding lease liabilities) also improved to $1.8M (FY23: $4.0M)
following the first two repayments of the loan provided by our strategic
shareholder, NHN Corporation. With the migration of routes from the DOCOMO
Digital (DDL) platform to the Bango platform nearing completion, Bango saw
core administrative costs(1) decrease by $7.1M, as well as a reduction in
R&D capital expenditure of $2.3M versus prior year.
Total revenue increased by 16% year-on-year to $53.4M (FY23: $46.1M). An 11%
increase in Transactional revenue was driven by increased consumer demand from
routes in Asia and the MEA. We grew DVM license and one-off revenues by 28%,
despite our decision to wind down the Bango Audiences business and related
revenues in the first quarter of the financial year. Bango signed 9 DVM
contracts in FY24 and 2025 shows a very strong sales pipeline of
opportunities.
Revenue and costs of sale
Bango continues to report revenues under two lines:
· Transactional Revenue ($36.2M; FY23: $32.7M) is revenue derived
by charging a percentage of the retail price paid by the consumer and is made
up of direct carrier billing, resale and e-Disti revenue share amounts; and
· DVM and One-off Revenue ($17.2M; FY23: $13.4M) includes all DVM
license and support fees, revenue from Bango Audiences (discontinued in Q1
2024) and one-off fees including DVM set-up and change requests.
Revenue, such as setup fees, is recognized on completion of contractual
milestones or on a percentage of completion and after consideration of the
requirements of IFRS15 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers). Subsequent
ongoing platform license and support fees have been judged as a separate
distinct revenue, based on the contractual agreements, individual orders and
discussions between customers and Bango.
Total revenue increased 16% to $53.4M (FY23: $46.1M) despite currency
headwinds from the strong US Dollar against the Euro and Japanese Yen. The
Transactional revenue increase of 11% exceeded our expectations, although much
of this difference was from low-margin revenues from Asia and MEA routes
acquired at the time of the DOCOMO Digital acquisition. DVM and one-off
revenue again saw a strong growth against prior year (+28%), although true
growth has been masked by the cessation of the Audiences business in the first
quarter of FY2024. Excluding the Audiences business from both years,
underlying growth was +40%.
Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR), the expected annual revenues to be
generated in the next 12 months based on contracted revenues recognized as at
31 December, increased 59% from December 2023 to $14.0M (FY23: $8.8M) in
December 2024. The addition of a third Tier 1 US Telco in Q12024 increased the
ARR by $2M. ARR growth rate is therefore best measured over the longer term.
Gross profit margins reduced this year to 78% (FY23: 86%) due to rapid growth
in the high cost of sales DOCOMO Digital Transactional routes highlighted
above. Excluding these routes, the Transactional business gross margin was
approximately 90%. The DVM delivered gross margins in excess of 99%.
Operating expenditure of continuing operations
During the period, administrative expenses increased to $46.7M (FY23: $44.8M)
as a result of a $2.6M increase in depreciation and amortization (driven by
the release of capitalized internal development costs as they become available
for use and capable of generating economic benefit). At the same time,
capitalized R&D costs for the year decreased by $2.3M to $15.3M.
Importantly, as noted above, core administrative costs, which excludes the
impact of exceptionals, depreciation and amortization, share based payment
charge and capitalized R&D reduced by $7.1M to $45.0M.
Adjusted EBITDA(2) for the year increased to $15.3M, (2023: $6.4M). This
growth of 139% was driven by a combination of increased revenues and cost
efficiencies. It also benefited from $2.2M of other income relating to
recovery of costs from NTT DOCOMO arising from the acquisition of DOCOMO
Digital ($1.4M of which was reported in 1H 2024).
The share-based payment charge of $2.1M (2023: $2.3M) was again calculated
using the Black-Scholes model. The share-based payments relate to the Bango
share option program that enables all Bango employees to share in the growth
in value of Bango. Share options are allocated to employees twice a year. It
is a vital recruitment and retention tool in a competitive market for top
talent.
Exceptional items
Exceptional costs for the year of $4.2M (2023: $3.9M) relate to one-off costs
as part of route migrations from the old DOCOMO Digital platform, together
with the write down of maintenance costs incurred on the former DOCOMO Digital
Platform that have now been expensed. It also includes an impairment charge
($2.1M) relating to intangible software assets. These assets were originally
obtained following the disposal of the NewDeep Joint Venture, which had been
subsequently used in the Audiences business. Following the closure of the
Audiences business during FY24, the asset was accordingly fully impaired.
Loss for the financial year and earnings per share
As newly developed features begin to generate revenue, there has been an
increase in non-cash amortization costs which reduced the overall improvement
in net loss result for the year. As these investments begin generating
revenue, we expect a stronger contribution to profitability in future periods.
The total loss after tax of $3.7M (2023: loss $8.8M) includes taxes related to
the DDL acquisition and R&D tax credits of $1.3M (2023: $1.4M). It should
be noted that the R&D tax relief system has been revised by the UK tax
authorities for accounting periods beginning on or after April 2024 which will
reduce the tax relief on overseas R&D. As a result, less of Bango's
R&D expenditure will now qualify for tax credits in future.
Basic loss per share was 4.75 cents (2023 Basic loss per share: 11.51 cents)
while diluted loss per share was also 4.75 cents (2023 Basic loss per share:
11.51 cents). This equates to a reduction in loss of nearly 60% versus the
prior year.
Cash, net debt and cashflow
Bango had cash, cash equivalents and cash held in short term investments of
$3.3M at 31 December 2024 (31 December 2023: $3.8M), financing debt from
leases of $1.8M (31 December 2023: $2.8M) and an external loan from NHN of
$5.1M (31 December 2023: $7.7M) the "NHN Loan". The NHN Loan is denominated in
KRW and carries a fixed annual interest rate of 6 per cent with repayment in
eight equal quarterly instalments which commenced in September 2024. The first
two quarterly payments were made, in line with the agreement, in 2H FY2024
with a further installment paid in Q1 2025 post period end.
Post period end, Bango secured an enhanced loan facility from NHN. Under the
agreement the existing loan will increase by $2.85M and include a deferral of
principal repayments. Both the additional funding and remaining balance of the
existing loan will be repaid over 8 equal quarterly installments, starting in
December 2026 and ending in September 2028. The full loan will carry a fixed
annual interest rate of 7 percent. In connection with the new loan, NHN has
been granted 2,048,319 5-year warrants to purchase new ordinary shares in
Bango at 80p each (the average closing share price over the 30 trading days
preceding the agreement in principle being received from NHN). These warrants
will replace the 314,380 warrants attached to the existing loan which have now
been cancelled.
In addition, Bango has secured a new $15M multi-currency Revolving Credit
Facility (RCF) with NatWest. The RCF provides a committed, long-term financing
solution that will replace the existing £3M overdraft from Barclays. The new
RCF is a three-year facility with a step down in year 3 to $12M. Borrowings
are subject to interest of SOFR plus a margin. The margin will initially be
fixed for 12 months and then calculated based on a ratchet linked to net
leverage. The facility includes standard financial covenants based on the
Bango's overall net leverage, interest cover and level of capital expenditure,
with each covenant tested on a quarterly basis (starting September 25). Bango
will actively monitor forecast compliance with covenants as part of its
financial planning processes and retains adequate headroom under all covenant
metrics.
The NHN loan together with the RCF provides significant strength to the
balance sheet which has been closely managed since the acquisition. This
additional flexibility will allow Bango to implement further cost reduction
programs earlier than planned and provide a working capital buffer. A stronger
balance sheet should also provide additional comfort to our partners.
Cashflow saw an increase from operating activities to ($18.9M; FY23 - $1.6M)
supported by an inflow from working capital. This working capital inflow was
due to the natural timing difference between receipts and payments,
particularly from the growth in lower margin Asia and MEA routes, as well as
the benefit from upfront integration and license fee payments. Bango continues
to invest in its customer proposition and saw an outflow from R&D
investing activities of $15.3M (FY23: $17.7M). This capitalized R&D
expenditure included investment in DVM features to maximize the revenue
opportunity by supporting faster customer onboarding and elevating the
customer experience. While R&D capital expenditure remains at elevated
levels due to the simultaneous investment to complete the DOCOMO Migration and
to expand the DVM product, overall capitalized R&D reduced by $2.3M during
the year vs FY 23. Cash flow from financing activities decreased by $11.0M
driven by the loan repayments on the NHN Loan which began from September 2024
as well as the proceeds from the first issuance of that loan in FY23. Overall,
cash movements for the year improved to ($0.4M) (vs. ($9.6M) in FY23) and net
debt (excluding lease liabilities) reduced from $4.0M as of 31 December 2023
to $1.8M as at 31 December 2024.
Intangible assets
Intangible assets net book value increased $2.0M to $39.6M (2023: $37.7M)
largely reflecting the continued investment in the DVM product to underpin
future growth and the investment to migrate the DOCOMO Digital routes to the
Bango platform. Some examples include:
· New offer management features to support the definition, creation
and management of bundles.
· Offer orchestration to consolidate multiple APIs into a single
call.
· A sandbox environment to build, test and validate integrations to
ultimately launch faster.
· Partner discovery to facilitate better discovery and engagement
between our content providers.
· The launch of our CX customer experience interface to support
consumers in managing their subscription content in one white-label
configurable hub.
These new investments were partially offset by the write down of development
costs incurred on the DOCOMO Digital platform that have now been expensed due
to the planned migration to the Bango platform, as well as for historical
costs for the Audiences business which has since ceased. Bango expects the
level of investment to continue to decline as the migration related work ends
and investment in DVM reduces. Internally generated R&D is calculated in
line with the principles of IAS38 and is largely based on data from timesheets
related to key projects which are then amortized over 5 to 7 years, commencing
upon deployment, with projects assessed in relation to their individual cash
generation ability.
Liabilities
Overall current liabilities have increased $5.4M to $39.2M (2023: $33.8M) on
account of growth in the business this year and growth in routes where Bango
collects receipts from the carrier and passes them to the underlying merchant
before deducting its revenue share. Right of use lease liabilities at 31
December 2024 have reduced slightly to $1.9M (2023: $2.7M).
Going concern
The Board have considered the Group's financial position, cashflow forecasts
and funding arrangements and believe there continues to be sufficient cash and
resources to support further planned investments to drive sales growth and the
development of the DVM. As part of this assessment, the Group's operational
performance and expected future trading have been taken into account, as well
as the additional liquidity available under the enhanced NHN loan facility and
the new $15M Revolving credit facility from NatWest. Based on the review of
forecasts, sensitivities and wider macro-economic effects, the Board have a
reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue as a
going concern.
Looking ahead
While currency fluctuations and the complexity of the DOCOMO Digital
integration extended our timelines, the business delivered strong execution in
FY24. Disciplined cost management and expanding revenue streams have
positioned us well for sustainable growth.
In FY25, our priorities remain focused on cash generation, cost optimization,
and revenue growth. Strategic investments in the DVM and growth in "Super
Bundling" are driving a strong DVM sales pipeline with plenty of opportunity.
Although the high cost of sales Transactional routes have seen a more volatile
start to the year - following strong growth in FY24 - we maintain our guidance
for FY25 Adjusted EBITDA in line with current consensus expectations(3).
We are also progressing with a series of efficiency initiatives this year,
which are expected to deliver a $1M uplift to FY26 Adjusted EBITDA versus
current consensus. These improvements will require upfront investment and come
alongside a normalization in working capital, as some of the favorable timing
benefits seen in FY24 unwind. As a result, we expect a temporary cash outflow
in FY25, however, our enhanced NHN loan facility and revolving credit facility
with NatWest will provide flexibility to manage this transition effectively.
With the core DVM platform now in place and major migrations largely complete,
we also anticipate a reduction in R&D capital expenditure - c.$0.5M below
consensus in FY25 - with further reductions expected in FY26. Taken together,
these actions are expected to significantly enhance cash generation in FY26
and establish a strong foundation for long-term, sustainable value creation.
Matt Wilson
Chief Financial Officer
(1)Core administrative costs are administrative costs before exceptional
items, share based payment charge, capitalized R&D expenses and
depreciation and amortization.
(2)Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation,
amortization, negative goodwill, exceptional items and share based payment
charge.
(3)Current consensus as of May 2025.
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year ended 31 December
2024
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
Revenue 53,370 46,098
Cost of sales ____(11,578) ___(6,476)
Gross profit 41,792 39,622
Other operating income 2,162 -
Administrative expenses (46,666) (44,767)
Adjusted EBITDA 15,285 6,395
Exceptional items (4,217) (3,857)
Negative goodwill - 3,799
Share based (2,068) (2,345)
payments
Depreciation (1,035) (1,052)
Amortization (10,677) (8,085)
Operating (2,712) (5,145)
loss
Finance (842) (497)
costs
Finance 15 15
income
Share of net loss of associate accounted for using the equity
method - (4,577)
Loss before taxation (3,539) (10,204)
Income (112) 1,378
tax
Loss for the financial year (attributable to equity holders of the company)
(3,651) (8,826)
Other comprehensive income
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss
Foreign exchange on consolidation 240 1,701
Currency movement in net investment - (922)
240 779
Loss and total comprehensive income for the financial year (3,411) (8,047)
Loss per share attributable to the equity holders of the parent
Note
Basic (loss) per share (4.75) c (11.51) c
Diluted (loss) per share (4.75) c (11.51) c
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2024
31 December 31 December
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 1,216 1,271
Right-of-use assets 1,928 2,734
Intangible assets 39,637 37,670
Other investments 50 50
Trade and other receivables - 250
42,831 41,975
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 20,932 22,526
Research and development tax credits 1,344 1,412
Short-term investments 41 40
Cash and cash equivalents 3,337 3,720
25,654 27,698
Total assets 68,485 69,673
EQUITY
Capital and reserves attributable to owners of the parent company
Share capital 24,593 24,584
Share premium account 63,197 63,161
Merger reserve 2,886 2,886
Share-based payments reserve 9,273 7,218
Foreign exchange reserve (1,793) (2,033)
Accumulated losses (71,974) (68,323)
Total equity 26,182 27,493
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 34,236 30,841
Lease liabilities 880 1,013
Loans and borrowings 3,412 1,925
Income tax liability 678 -
39,206 33,779
Non-current liabilities
Loans and borrowings 1,706 5,776
Trade and other payables - 196
Lease liabilities 887 1,770
Deferred tax 504 659
3,097 8,401
Total liabilities 42,303 42,180
Total equity and liabilities 68,485 69,673
Consolidated cashflow statement
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash flow from operating activities 18,879 1,638
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisitions of property plant and equipment (183) (275)
Expenditure on capitalized development costs and intangible
assets (15,347) (17,663)
Short-term investments (1) 1
Interest received 15 15
Additional investment in associate - (636)
Net cash flows from investing activities (15,516) (18,558)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from issue of ordinary shares, net of issue costs 45 863
Interest paid on borrowings (687) (322)
Proceeds from borrowings - 7,873
Repayment of bank borrowing (1,957) -
Lease payments (1,108) (954)
Interest payment on leases (14) (128)
Net cash flows from financing activities (3,721) 7,332
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (358) (9,588)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 3,720 12,657
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash held (25) 651
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 3,337 3,720
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
Share capital Share premium Merger reserve Share based Foreign currency Accumulated
payment reserve translation losses Total
$ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000
At 1 January 2024 24,584 63,161 2,886 7,218 (2,033) (68,323) 27,493
Loss for the year - - - - - (3,651) (3,651)
Foreign exchange translation - - - (13) 240 - 227
Total comprehensive income - - - (13) 240 (3,651) (3,424)
Share-based payment transactions - - - 2,068 - - 2,068
Exercise of share options and warrants 9 36 - - - - 45
Transactions with owners 9 36 - 2,068 - - 2,113
At 31 December 2024 24,593 63,197 2,886 9,273 (1,793) (71,974) 26,182
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the Year Ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
Share premium Merger reserve Share based Foreign currency Accumulated
Share capital account payment reserve translation losses Total
$ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000 $ 000
At 1 January 2023 24,471 62,411 2,886 4,029 (2,812) (59,541) 31,444
Loss for the year - - - - - (8,826) (8,826)
Foreign exchange translation - - - 603 (603) - -
Other comprehensive income - - - - 1,382 - 1,382
Total comprehensive income - - - 603 779 (8,826) (7,444)
Issue of warrants - - - 285 - - 285
Share-based payment transactions - - - 2,345 - - 2,345
Transfer for exercised options - - - (44) - 44 -
Exercise of share options and warrants 113 750 - - - - 863
Transactions with owners 113 750 - 2,586 - 44 3,493
At 31 December 2023 24,584 63,161 2,886 7,218 (2,033) (68,323) 27,493
1 Basis of preparation
The financial information set out above and below, does not constitute the
company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2024 or 2023 but
is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2023 have been
delivered to the registrar of Companies, and those for 2024 will be delivered
in due course. The auditor has reported on those accounts; their reports were
(i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the
auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report, and
(iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the
Companies Act 2006.
While the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has
been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of
UK-adopted international accounting standards and as applied in accordance
with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006, this announcement does not
itself contain sufficient information to comply with UK-adopted international
accounting standards. The financial information contained within this full
year results statement was approved and authorized for issue by the Board on 5
June 2025.
These financial statements are presented in US Dollars (USD), the presentation
currency of Bango PLC Group.
2 Revenue
Revenue by product:
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
Transactional revenue 36,205 32,737
DVM, Audiences & One off revenue 17,165 13,361
53,370 46,098
Transactional revenues are derived by charging a percentage of the retail
price paid by the consumer and is made up of carrier billing, resale and
e-Disti revenue share amounts. DVM, Audiences and one-off revenue includes all
DVM license and support fees, revenue from Bango Audiences and one-off fees
including DVM set-up and change requests.
Transactional revenue is currently recognized at a point in time while DVM,
Audiences and One-off revenues are recognized over time.
Geographical analysis
Bango's revenue from external customers is divided into the following
geographical areas.
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
United Kingdom (country of domicile) 1,765 1,784
EU 6,348 6,217
USA and Canada 13,770 10,053
Asia (including Japan) 16,734 18,048
Middle East and Africa (including Iraq) 11,031 3,813
Rest of the World 3,722 6,183
53,370 46,098
All turnover is spread over many territories, of which $9.1M and $7.0M comes
from two partners in Asia and Middle East. (2023: $6.3M, $5.7M and $5.3M from
three partners in Asia and Middle East).The 2023 comparative figures have been
updated to reflect the additional categories now presented.
Bango's non-current assets are divided into the following geographical areas.
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
United Kingdom (country of domicile) 41,366 39,783
Germany 1,425 2,082
Japan 40 110
42,831 41,975
Non-current assets are allocated based on their physical location.
3 (Loss) per share
(a) Basic
Basic (loss) per share are calculated by dividing the loss attributable to
equity holders of Bango PLC by the weighted average number of ordinary shares
in issue during the year.
2024 2023
Basic (loss) per share $ 000 $ 000
(Loss) for the financial year (3,651) (8,826)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 76,813,432 76,709,473
(4.75) c (11.51) c
Basic (loss) per share attributable to equity holders
Basic adjusted (loss)/earnings per share
Adjusted (loss)/earnings per share is a key financial information which
discloses the financial performance of the core business for which the
directors have direct control. Adjusted basic (loss)/earnings per share is
determined as the (loss) / profit attributable to equity holders of Bango PLC
excluding the Bango PLC share of the net loss of associate for the period,
negative goodwill and exceptional items divided by the weighted average number
of ordinary shares in issue during the year.
2024 2023
$ 000 $ 000
Profit / (loss) attributable to equity holders of Bango PLC:
From continuing operations (3,651) (8,826)
Exceptional items 4,217 3,857
Negative goodwill - (3,799)
Share of net loss of associates accounted for using the equity method - 4,577
Adjusted profit / (loss) attributable to equity holders of Bango PLC 566 (4,191)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 76,813,432 76,709,473
Adjusted basic (loss) / earnings per share attributable to equity holders (c) 0.74 c (5.46) c
(b) Diluted
Diluted loss per share is in line with basic loss per share. The weighted
average number of shares for the purposes of calculating diluted loss per
share are the same as for the basic loss per share calculation. This is
because the outstanding share options would have the effect of reducing the
loss per share and would not, therefore, be dilutive under the terms of IAS
33.
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