REG - Bidstack Group PLC - Trading Update

BidstackAnnouncement

07/07/2022 07:16

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RNS Number : 6008R  Bidstack Group PLC  07 July 2022

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7 July 2022

Bidstack Group Plc

("Bidstack" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading Update

 

Encouraging first half revenues and margins

 

Bidstack Group Plc (AIM: BIDS), the in-game brand activation platform, is
pleased to announce a trading update for half year ended 30 June 2022.

Financial Update

·      Unaudited revenue up 160% to £2.1m (H1 21: £820k);

·      Year-on-year gross margin improvement (H1 21: 34.5%); and

·      Unaudited period end cash balance of £3.6m (H1 21: £695k), with
further significant non-trading cash receipt expected in Q322.

Key Commercial Highlights

·      Commenced roll out of Azerion Group N.V. ("Azerion") media sales
partnership on 1 March 2022 across core markets of the UK and EMEA.  Current
performance in-line with the two-year $30m minimum revenue contractual
commitments;

·      PubGuard, Bidstack's ad-quality platform, has secured a minimum
two-year licence agreement with Azerion providing Azerion with exclusive
representation reselling PubGuard's brand safety technology whilst also
utilising the software across its group of companies;

·    Inventory of games now over 100 titles (31 December 21: 58) with over
100m monthly active users available to Bidstack's network of global media
partners; and

·    New ad formats of in-menu and rewarded video launched.

Outlook

·      Revenue from the Azerion media sales partnership is anticipated
to accelerate into H2 22 in line with contractual commitments;

·      New products to be launched in H2 22 for Bidstack's publishers
and developers to maximise monetisation, the addition of new measurement tools
and enhanced platform management including data and reporting;

·      Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Rating Council
(MRC) Measurement Guidelines now in public consultation to establish robust
standards. This is expected to increase confidence of media buyers to purchase
in-game advertising through open marketplace, which is expected to be a
significant catalyst for frictionless growth;

·      Robust pipeline for enterprise software sales as Bidstack
diversifies business towards new opportunities in technology licensing to
publishers, developers, platforms and rights holders beyond FY22.

The Board is pleased with Bidstack's progress in the first half and expects
that revenues for FY22 will be in line with market expectations, primarily
reflecting the increased commitments arising under the Azerion contract for
the second half.

The Board continues to believe that Bidstack is well established, both in
terms of product and revenue generation, as a leading player for in-game brand
activation. Bidstack continues to focus on cash management, gross margins and
operating expenses.

James Draper, CEO of Bidstack said:

"The first six months of FY22 has seen the Company put in place further
foundations for longer term growth, as our Group revenues begin to
accelerate.  A 160% increase in first half revenue year-on-year to £2.1m is
testament to our broader product offering and suite of tools, organic growth
through cross-selling and the commencement of our relationship with
Azerion.  Our cash management has been carefully balanced between investment
for aggressive growth and prudent management.  In addition, our gross margin
is trending up year-on-year.

 

"As of 1 March 2022, our two-year agreement with Azerion has begun, with their
sizeable sales teams giving Bidstack's media segment and gaming advertising
network a greater representation across new markets.

"Bidstack Group is proud to be a pioneer with our industry bodies; the
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Rating Council (MRC).  They
are now releasing standardisation guidelines for campaign measurement.  This
is an important development, as a universally approved standard for measuring
campaign success will enable media planners to push more advertising spend
into in-game.

"In addition, the progress of our technology division has seen PubGuard, a
company acquired by Bidstack in 2019, now beginning to commercialise, with
Azerion agreeing to be the exclusive reseller for this product over the next
two years.

"Outside of our media business, our H2 22 focus will be on enterprise software
sales. Our commercial pipeline remains robust as we make good progress.  Our
vision has always been to create a platform that generates recurring and
automated revenues through our suite of tools, designed to help our gaming
publishers customers monetise brand activations.

"We have many exciting new products, adding to our "always-on revenue" suite
of tools for publishers that are expected to be rolled out in Q3 22. This
should support a robust second half to the year for the Group and an increased
number of game developers seeking to take advantage of our technologies, not
just within advertising, but across their studios.

 

"We are all very aware of the uncertainty caused by the challenging global
economic climate. However, we are confident that the video games sector will
remain strong and that the demand for advertising-spend monetisation will
continue to increase, from game developers and publishers. There is a clear
trend toward shifting media spend towards the video games audience.

 

"I believe we are well placed to benefit as our market continues to mature and
I look forward to providing further updates."

-ENDS-

Contacts

 Bidstack Group Plc

 James Draper, CEO                                            via Buchanan
 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)                      +44 (0) 203 368 3550

 Mark Brady / Neil Baldwin / James Keeshan
 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Broker)

 Fred Walsh / Tom Marsh                                       +44 (0) 20 7710 7600

 Buchanan Communications Limited

 Chris Lane / Stephanie Whitmore / Kim van Beeck              +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

 bidstack@buchanan.uk.com (mailto:bidstack@buchanan.uk.com)

 

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