CentralNic (AIM:CNIC) supplies the tools for businesses to get online including domain names, hosting, websites, email, website security, brand protection and domain monetisation services.
“The real star of our business,” says Chief Executive Ben Crawford “is our online marketing business. This is tools for companies that already have a website that are trying to win customers over the internet.”
That ‘star’ helped drive the $156m of revenue and $18m EBITDA made in Q1 alone which is an increase of 85% and 80% respectively on last year with organic revenue growth at 51%.
The numbers are big as is the size of the market the company is engaged with. Crawford says last year the market was $450 billion growing at more than 20%. “We can keep growing at 50% a year all the way up to 2030 and still not have 1% market share in the market.”
CentralNic has been listed on AIM for nine years and Crawford doesn't like to disappoint, and in the most recent investor update management were confident enough to materially upgrading market estimates for the rest of the year.
“We keep upgrading forecasts as business is going very well. We believe in the robustness of our business model and through acquiring more and more businesses we make it more robust."
Crawford describes recent acquisition VGL as a "wonderful addition to our company" with "fantastic capabilities" and is a "great next step." It’s Germany’s leading comparison website company and fits with CentralNic’s growth strategy.
Crawford summarises that strategy. “Our business model is if you buy a company in the same business as the companies you already own but with different suppliers and different customers you can merge them into a marketplace and create a network effect where all the new customers can buy from all the old suppliers and all the new suppliers can sell to the old customers.”
That’s a simple definition as is the clear message Crawford has for investors. “The opportunity that we’re facing is enormous. Just gigantic compared to the scale of the company today and everything internally is pointing to continued success. We’re here for the long-term.”