The information contained within
this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR")
EU no.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via
Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain.
Ebiquity
Plc
22 August
2024
Trading
Update and
Notice of
results
Ebiquity plc ("Ebiquity" or the
"Group"), a world leader in media investment analysis, announces a
trading update for the first half year ended 30 June
2024 ahead of its interim results which will be issued on 26
September 2024.
The Board currently anticipates the
financial year to have an unusually strong weighting to the second
half. For the half year ended 30 June 2024, Group revenue is
expected to have declined by 7% to £37.9 million (H1 2023: £40.6
million) primarily due to some large clients continuing to reduce
budgets.
The Group's cost base is largely
fixed, as its distinctive, premium service levels depend on the
retention of expert talent which means that the profit impact of a
revenue shortfall is acute. In light of
reduced revenues, Adjusted EBIT for H1 2023 is expected to decline
by 61% to £2.3 million (H1 2023: £6.0 million) compressing Adjusted
EBIT margin to c6% (H1 2023: 15%).
The transformation programme
undertaken has enabled the Group to develop a substantial weighted
pipeline with contractual coverage for over 80% of forecast
revenues for FY 2024. Revenues are expected to increase
sharply during late Q3 and into Q4 with an associated material
uplift in margins, benefiting from the operational leverage within
the Group, leading to an expected recovery in overall margin for
the full year.
Net debt as at 30 June
2024 was £15.3 million with cash balances of £6.7 million
and undrawn bank facilities of £8 million. The expectation is that
net debt will increase somewhat during the third quarter but then
return to around the current level by year end. The Group expects
to generate significant profits in H2 2024 and has ample liquidity
and headroom against its banking covenants.
The Board's expectations for a
strong performance in the second half are underpinned by
contractual visibility and the Group's existing pipeline. The Board
is also mindful of a material level of execution risk associated
with delivering this steep ramp up in new business and renewals
during H2 2024 and the weakness of the Group's performance in H1
2024. As such, the Board believes profits for the full year will be
below its previous expectations. September and October will be
crucial months for the Group and the outturn for the current
financial year. The Board will provide further guidance on the
Group's expected full year outturn at the interim
results.
Nick Waters, CEO,
commented:
"H1 2024 performance
has been challenging, however the business has worked during this
period to develop a deep pipeline of revenue opportunities which
are scheduled to be closed and delivered in H2. As a result, the
year will be very much one of two halves. I am
encouraged by the anticipated growth in our North American
business, where a significant number of opportunities have been
identified that are expected to convert to stronger second half
revenues."
Note 1: Adjusted EBIT is defined as
EBIT excluding share-based payments, amortisation of purchased
intangibles and non-recurring items.
Enquiries:
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Ebiquity
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Via
Camarco
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Nick Waters, CEO
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Camarco
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Ben Woodford
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+44
(0)7990 653 341
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Panmure Liberum (Financial Adviser, NOMAD & Broker)
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Edward Mansfield / Dougie McLeod
(Corporate Advisory)
Mark Murphy / Sam Elder (Corporate
Broking)
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+44
(0)20 7886 2500
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