Brief: Opera Software cuts outlook due to softer development in mobile advertising business
20/12/2016 07:01
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Opera Software Asa OPERA.OL :
* Opera software asa: lowering of our expectations follows
softer performance in our mobile advertising business
* Opera software asa: expects current trading conditions to
continue into 1q17, resulting in a relatively soft q1 when
compared with 1q16
* Opera software asa: however expects that significant
investments we are making in products, in particular SDK, a new
core update, artificial intelligence and data science will yield
solid revenue growth compared to 2016
* Opera software asa: all of Opera's other businesses -
Opera TV, Bemobi, Skyfire and Surfeasy - are performing in line
with our 4q16 expectations
* Opera Software also announces sale of it's majority stake
in its TV business to Moore Freres at an enterprise value of
$114.3 mln urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN1EE0WP
* Opera Software asa: when carving out Opera TV from overall
fy 2016 ranges given for revenue ($570-600 million) and adjusted
ebitda ($60-70 million), ranges would have been $540-570 million
revenue and $45-55 million adjusted ebitda
* Opera now expects to end fy 2016 just below these overall
ranges for continued operations
* As communicated at our 3Q16 presentation, the mobile
advertising business did not exit 3Q16 with the same tailwind as
we saw last year. This trend has continued in 4Q16
* Opera software asa: while below our expectations, business
is expected to show an overall revenue growth in 2016 of around
15 pct versus 2015
* Opera software asa: as a result, we expect to deliver
revenue from our brand and performance revenue which is 10-20
pct below 4q15'
* As a reference, 4Q15 saw exceptionally strong spend from
certain key Brand and Performance advertisers, and Opera
believes that excluding this extraordinary Q415 spend, the
revenue would have been relatively flat in 4Q16 vs 4Q15
* Overall gross margins are strong in the quarter and
expected to be flat to slightly up compared to 3Q16
Source text for Eikon: urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nWkrlt5423
Further company coverage: OPERA.OL
(Reporting By Ole Petter Skonnord)
((olepetter.skonnord@thomsonreuters.com;))