REG - Zinc Media Group PLC - Trading Update

Zinc MediaAnnouncement

21/11/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 9810G  Zinc Media Group PLC  21 November 2022

Zinc Media Group plc

("Zinc", the "Group" or the "Company")

 

Trading Update

 

Zinc Media Group plc (AIM: ZIN), the award-winning television, brand and audio
production group, announces a trading update alongside details of recent
commissions for the current financial year ending 31 December 2022 ("FY22").

 

Financial highlights:

·      Revenue booked and anticipated to deliver in FY22 at £28m
(FY2021: £17.5m), ahead of market expectations

·      EBITDA performance is in line with current guidance with the
Group expecting to be profitable in H2 2022

·      The Edge, which was acquired by the Group in August 2022, is
reporting its best trading year on record and integration into the wider Group
is progressing well

·      The Group has a strong balance sheet with cash of £3.1m as at 17
November 2022

·      The Group is entering the new year in a strong position with £6m
of revenue currently booked and a further £16m at a highly advanced stage
which is expected to convert in the next few months for delivery in FY23

 

New commissions include:

·      The first series commission for new label Rex titled Scandal

·      Worldwide launch of new Supercollider project for Red Bull: Space
Jump

·      Recommission of Lego Suntz production from Supercollider

·      New BBC TWO series Putin and the West

·      Recommission of BBC ONE daytime series Critical Incident

 

Other operational highlights include:

·      Appointment of Managing Director of Commercial Strategy

·      Pledge to ensure half its Zinc documentaries are directed by
women

·      Nine award nominations for new label Bumblebee Post Production

 

Mark Browning, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased to report
robust performance of the Group which has been driven by strong revenue
growth. Our recent acquisition The Edge is performing ahead of initial
expectations, our newly launched businesses are booking revenue quickly and
our well-established labels are winning returning series. We continue to
strengthen our business winning capabilities and a plethora of award
nominations is a reminder that Zinc is one of the UK's most prestigious
production companies."

 

The Group's latest acquisition, The Edge, is trading well and on course to
deliver its best trading performance to date. Integration is underway with
workstreams exploring synergies and commercial growth opportunities across all
aspects of the newly enlarged group and management expect to report progress
at the end of Q1 2023.

 

Zinc launched two new business winning labels this year and both are already
booking revenue into 2022 and 2023. The new popular factual label Rex launched
in April, is prioritising returning series and saleable formats.  This label
is led by Lana Sala who was series producer of hit factual shows including SAS
Who Dares Wins, First Dates and Celebrity First Dates.  Rex is in production
on its first series, Scandals for Channel 5, which charts some of the most
notorious scandals of the last 30 years. Episodes include the infamous Neil
and Christine Hamilton, the Jeffrey Archer scandals, culminating in his
imprisonment in 2001, and the John Major and Edwina Currie affair in 2002.
Bumblebee Post Production, which launched in September, is now winning
television post production work for broadcasters and independent production
companies.

 

Supercollider, the brand, event and documentary film label launched in 2021,
has produced its latest film for Red Bull.  The film Space Jump charts the
10(th) anniversary of Felix Baumgartner's solo jump from the stratosphere
which broke all online streaming records and changed the way the world watches
content.  To this day it remains the most watched online event.  The film is
available here https://www.redbull.com/int-en/films/space-jump-stratos
(https://www.redbull.com/int-en/films/space-jump-stratos)

 

Brook Lapping has announced its latest premium access documentary Putin and
the West.  This series gets exclusive access to the corridors of power to
tell the inside story of a decade of political strife from those who were in
the room for the crucial decisions. Each episode will look at a different
crisis - Ukraine 2014, Syria and the Middle East, and the current war in
Ukraine up to the point of Russia's invasion.

 

Tern TV has secured a recommission of the BBC ONE daytime series Critical
Incident for its fourth season.  The 15 new hours, which take the format to
over 50 hours in total, tell real-life stories of the police and emergency
services on the front line, often facing assault and abuse.  This series is
produced from Northern Ireland.

 

Zinc has appointed Aileen Dennis into a new role of Managing Director of
Commercial Strategy.  She will manage the rapid growth of the Zinc
Communicate businesses, which grew 78% in H1 2022 versus H1 2021, while also
supporting the Group as it explores further strategic development and
acquisition opportunities.  Zinc Communicate has recently launched its first
18-part series with Sustainable Travel International. It has produced films
for global clients Easyjet, American Express and Shell amongst many others.

 

The Group has picked up a string of highly prestigious award nominations,
underpinning its reputation as one of the UK's most prestigious production
companies.  Tern TV has been nominated for 6 Royal Television Society (RTS)
Awards for programmes including Darren McGarvey's Class Wars, Thatcher vs The
Miners, Mr Brown's Boys, The Secret Science of Sewage and Dolly: The Sheep
That Changed the World.  Tern TV has also been nominated for Scottish
BAFTAs.  Meanwhile new business Bumblebee Post Production has been nominated
for the Broadcast Bulldog Awards which recognise outstanding innovation in
television technology.  The nomination is for excellence in cloud-based
production work for the hit series Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun for Channel
5.

 

Zinc Media Group further underlined its status as an industry pioneer this
month by joining the likes of Amazon Prime Video, BBC Documentaries and
Channel 4 in committing to We Are Doc Women's pledge which aims to ensure that
half of its documentaries are directed by women.

 

Further information can be found at:  https://www.zincmedia.com/news/
(https://www.zincmedia.com/news/)

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
Market Abuse Regulation.

 

For further information, please contact:

Zinc Media Group
plc
           +44 (0) 20 7878 2311

Mark Browning, CEO / Will Sawyer, CFO

www.zincmedia.com (http://www.zincmedia.com)

Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
                                +44 (0) 20 7496
3000

Mark Taylor / George Tzimas / Alex Emslie

IFC Advisory Ltd (Financial
PR)
           +44 (0) 20 3934 6630

Graham Herring / Zach Cohen

 

About Zinc Media Group

Zinc Media Group plc is a leading television and content creation group.

The award-winning and critically acclaimed television labels comprise Brook
Lapping, Red Sauce, Supercollider, Tern Television, Rex and Bumblebee Post
Production and produce programmes across a wide range of factual genres for UK
and international channels.

Zinc Communicate specialises in developing cross-platform content for brands,
businesses, and rights holders.

The Edge is the Group's latest acquisition and produces film content for
brands, corporates, and Governments both in the UK and in Qatar and other
international markets.

For further information on Zinc Media please visit www.zincmedia.com
(http://www.zincmedia.com/)

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