REG - Ebiquity PLC - Trading Update and Notice of results

EbiquityAnnouncement

22/08/2024 07:01

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240822:nRSV3287Ba&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3287B  Ebiquity PLC  22 August 2024

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:

 

 Ebiquity                                                 Via Camarco
 Nick Waters, CEO

 Camarco
 Ben Woodford                                             +44 (0)7990 653 341

 Panmure Liberum (Financial Adviser, NOMAD & Broker)
 Edward Mansfield / Dougie McLeod (Corporate Advisory)     +44 (0)20 7886 2500

 Mark Murphy / Sam Elder (Corporate Broking)

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTEAKPFASSLEFA