Trading Update

RNS Number : 0401X

XLMedia PLC

21 November 2017

 

For immediate release

21 November 2017

XLMedia PLC

("XLMedia" or "the Group" or "the Company")

Trading update

Strong growth continues with trading ahead of expectations

XLMedia (AIM: XLM) is pleased to report that the Group has continued to trade strongly since the half year end and therefore expects adjusted EBITDA¹ for the year ending 31 December 2017 to be materially ahead of expectations. The Board further expects profit before tax to be ahead of expectations, albeit not to the same degree as adjusted EBITDA as a result of the effect of adverse currency exchange differences.

Since the half year end we have continued to see strong organic growth across the Group, particularly in the publishing division, which has led to us achieving better than expected direct margins in both segments.  As well as the number of visitors to our websites increasing we have seen improved conversion rates and increased revenues from revenue share arrangements from users we referred to customers both this year and before.

During the year we have completed several strategic acquisitions targeted at North America. These include Clicksmob, a mobile performance marketing platform and two financial services informational websites, Greedyrates.ca ("Greedyrates") and Moneyunder30.com.  Integration of all acquisitions made this year is progressing according to plan and they are all performing at least in line with management expectations at the time of acquisition.  We are particularly pleased to report that that Greedyrates, which we acquired in January, has exceeded our growth expectations.  This is primarily a result of traffic to Greedyrates increasing as we continue to optimise the site for improved performance as well as investing in customer relations and sales.  This, we believe, is a strong endorsement of the team's technical know-how and marketing understandings.

We have been very pleased with the acquisitions that we have made in 2017 and see North America as a major opportunity for the Group to grow in various verticals, such as financial services, cyber security, mobile apps and, as markets increasingly regulate, online gambling.  Accordingly, the Board remains confident in the continued performance of the business.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation EU 596/2014 ("MAR").

¹ Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization adjusted to exclude share based payments.

For further information, contact:

XLMedia plc Ory Weihs www.xlmedia.com   via Vigo Communications Vigo Communications Jeremy Garcia / Fiona Henson / Ekaterina Rogucheva www.vigocomms.com   Tel: [phone] Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint Broker) Camilla Hume / Mark Connelly www.cenkos.com   Tel: [phone] Berenberg (Joint Broker) Chris Bowman / Mark Whitmore  www.berenberg.com Tel: [phone]

 

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