REG - Ebiquity PLC - Trading Update

EbiquityAnnouncement

25/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5234T  Ebiquity PLC  25 July 2022

Ebiquity Plc

25 July 2022

Trading Update

Ebiquity reports strong H1 2022 revenue, profit, and margin growth in line
with expectations and announces positive outlook for the full year

Ebiquity plc ("Ebiquity" or the "Group"), a world leader in media investment
analysis, announces a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2022,
ahead of the interim results announcement planned for 22 September 2022.

In the six months ended 30 June 2022, Ebiquity continued its growth trajectory
with revenue of approximately £37 million, which was 16% ahead of the same
period last year. This performance included an initial contribution from Media
Management LLC and Media Path, the acquisitions of which were completed in
April 2022.  Organic revenue was up 10% over the prior year.

In addition, the Group's profitability improved significantly and the Board
expects to report underlying operating profit in excess of £4.6 million, an
increase of at least 100% over the same period last year. The Group's
underlying operating margin is similarly expected to improve to at least 12%,
which would represent an increase of five percentage points over the prior
year, enabled by growth in higher margin digital products and improved
operating efficiencies.

The Group's net debt as at 30 June 2022 was £12.9m (comprising cash balances
of £9.3 million and gross debt of £22.2 million).

Following a previously announced review, the Group is in discussions regarding
the divestment of its small Russian subsidiary.

Nick Waters, CEO, commented:

"We are satisfied with the Group's performance in the first half, as we
continue to deliver our strategic plan.  Not only is revenue up strongly, but
importantly, the improvements we have made to the business have also led to
significant profit and margin growth.  We are pleased with the impact of the
acquisitions that we completed earlier this year, which have boosted our
presence in the world's largest advertising market of North America and have
provided us with a market leading technology platform that will bring us
valuable economies of scale as we continue to grow.  These acquisitions are
contributing as expected and their integrations are progressing well.

In terms of our outlook, there is undoubtedly greater uncertainty given the
increasing macro-economic challenges.  While Ebiquity is not immune to these,
we do see potential opportunities: in prior periods of economic uncertainty
marketers have scrutinised all their media investments more thoroughly for
cost, quality, and effectiveness. Marketers may also look to allocate more
capital to digital advertising, which is served by our Digital Media Solutions
business that is continuing to grow rapidly.  Notwithstanding this
uncertainty, we look forward to completing another successful year in 2022 and
continuing to deliver against our planned growth trajectory".

 

 

Market abuse regulation

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of
the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of
this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service this inside information
is now considered to be in the public domain.

The person responsible for arranging release of this announcement on behalf of
the Company is Alan Newman, Chief Financial and Operating Officer of the
Company.

Enquiries:

 Ebiquity plc                                                              Via Camarco

 Nick Waters (Chief Executive Officer)

 Alan Newman (Chief Financial and Operating Officer)

 Camarco

 Ben Woodford                                                              07990 653 341

 Geoffrey Pelham-Lane                                                      07733 124 226

 Phoebe Pugh

 Panmure Gordon (Financial Adviser, NOMAD & Broker)                        020 7886 2500

 Alina Vaskina / Harriette Johnson / Dougie McLeod (Corporate Advisory)

 Charles Leigh-Pemberton (Corporate Broking)

 

About Ebiquity plc

 

Ebiquity plc (LSE AIM: EBQ) is a world leader in media investment analysis.
It harnesses the power of data to provide independent, fact-based advice,
enabling brand owners to perfect media investment decisions and improve
business outcomes. Ebiquity is able to provide independent, unbiased advice
and solutions to brands because we have no commercial interest in any part of
the media supply chain.

 

We are a data-driven solutions company helping brand owners drive efficiency
and effectiveness from their media spend, eliminating wastage and creating
value. We provide analysis and solutions through five Service Lines: Media
management, Media performance, Marketing effectiveness, Technology advisory,
Contract compliance.

 

Ebiquity's clients are served by nearly 600 media specialists operating from
24 offices covering 80% of the global advertising market.

 

The Company has the most comprehensive, independent view of today's global
media market, analysing $55bn of media spend from 75 markets annually,
including trillions of digital media impressions. Our Contract Compliance
division, FirmDecisions, audits $40bn of contract value annually.

 

As a result, more than 70 of the world's top 100 advertisers today choose
Ebiquity as their trusted independent media advisor.

 

For further information, please visit: www.ebiquity.com
(http://www.ebiquity.com/)

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