REG - Zoo Digital Group - Trading Statement

Zoo DigitalAnnouncement

05/03/2018 07:00

RNS Number : 6124G
Zoo Digital Group PLC
05 March 2018
ZOO DIGITAL GROUP PLC
("ZOO", the "Group" or the "Company")
Trading Update
ZOO Digital Group plc, the provider of localisation and digital distribution services for the global entertainment industry, today provides an update on current trading for the year ending 31 March 2018.
The Company is pleased to announce that growth has continued into the second half of the financial year with full year revenue expected to be at least $28m (year ended 31 March 2017: $16.5m). Adjusted EBITDA* for the full year is expected to be ahead of market expectations and at least $2.3m (2017: $1.8m). Localisation services (being subtitling and dubbing) continue to grow strongly and are expected to represent in the region of 70% of overall revenue (2017: 52%). Investment has continued in establishing the Company's new dubbing service delivered through its proprietary cloud-based production platform and the Board is greatly encouraged by the response to this from both existing and new clients.
The Company currently has a gross cash position of $2.2m (as compared to $0.7m at 30 September 2017) and has significantly reduced utilisation of its working capital borrowing facility such that it expects that its only material borrowings at 31 March 2018 will be its long-term convertible loan notes.
ZOO's planned technology developments include the application of machine learning to streamline the dubbing process for TV and film entertainment content, for which the Company has recently been awarded an R&D grant from Innovate UK, the Government-funded agency. This funding will support collaboration with a speech and hearing research group at the University of Sheffield and is expected to deliver capabilities that will improve the quality and speed of production for lip-sync dubbing projects.
ZOO has recently begun a new phase of its affiliate partner programme in order to establish services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), enabling the Company to extend its reach in key countries in the Middle East. To support global digital distribution platform providers in their acquisition of regional content in the territory, ZOO's partnerships will include services for the ingest of media and preparation of assets for delivery, in addition to providing access to linguists and voice acting talent for the expansion of the Company's subtitling and dubbing services.
Stuart Green, Chief Executive of ZOO, commented:
"We are delighted with the progress of our dubbing service and the positive response we have received from clients. Whilst this proposition is still in the investment phase, we have made significant strides in advancing and validating our proprietary technology, establishing our internal team, and building our network of freelance talent across multiple languages and countries. This will provide us with a platform for strong growth, therefore we expect to be operationally geared to achieve enhanced profitability in future periods."
* Adjusted for share-based payments.
This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 ("MAR").
For further enquiries please contact:
ZOO Digital Group plc
0114 241 3700
Stuart Green - Chief Executive Officer

Helen Gilder - Chief Finance Officer

FinnCap
020 7220 0500
Henrik Persson / Emily Watts / Alex Price (corporate finance)
Camille Gochez (corporate broking)

Alma PR
020 8004 4219
Josh Royston / Hilary Buchanan / Helena Bogle

About ZOO Digital Group plc:
ZOO Digital is a provider of services allowing TV and movie content to be subtitled and dubbed in any language and prepared for sale with all major online retailers. ZOO's clients are some of the best-known brands in the world including major Hollywood studios, global broadcasters and independent distributors.
ZOO's point of difference in the marketplace is its development and use of innovative cloud technology. This ensures that content is localised in any language and delivered to all the major online platforms such as Amazon, iTunes, Google and Hulu with reduced time to market, higher quality and lower costs. ZOO's agile, cloud-based business model enables clients to respond to market trends, scale easily with business growth and capitalise on new routes to market in the fast moving and evolving digital industry.
ZOO operates from the entertainment hubs of Los Angeles and London with a development and production centre in Sheffield. Its full-service proposition includes digital distribution, subtitling & captioning, metadata creation & localisation, dubbing, artwork localisation, workflow and asset management.
www.zoodigital.com

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