LONDON (Alliance News) - 7digital Group PLC said Thursday its annual revenue jumped by 50% as the company said it became the main supplier of music and radio to the retail, telecoms and automotive industries.
For 2017, the company which provides digital music solutions, posted revenue up to GBP16.8 million from GBP11.2 million the year before.
In Licensing, the company's core business division, revenue hiked 74% year-on-year to GBP11.6 million from GBP6.7 million in what the company described as a "transformative" year.
"The group continued to expand its customer base which already included nearly 50 companies across an increasing range of geographies, strengthened its relationships with the music industry, with all major labels now customers and improved the quality of its business through the visibility of its revenues," Chief Executive Officer Simon Cole said.
During the year, 7digital acquired 24-7 Entertainment for GBP18.0 million from electronics and entertainment retailer MediaMarktSaturn, expanding its presence in the European market, it said.
Pretax loss narrowed to GBP5.0 million in 2017 from GBP5.5 million in 2016, as the company reduced its operating loss to GBP5.0 million.
For 2018, the company said that "momentum continued into the first half" with total sales for the six-month period up 57% to GBP9.3 million. The company said it is "optimistic" about its future in a developing market.
Shares were trading down 3.9% at 4.38 pence each after having been restored to trading earlier on Thursday. The company's shares were suspended from trading at the beginning of July, because the company had failed to meet the deadline for issuing its results.
Chairman Don Cruickshank said: "I would like to start with an apology for the late publication of our results. It is a situation we are not proud of but it is unconnected with the underlying health of our business.
"The process we have been through in the last few painful weeks leaves us with a more robust financial structure and a set of accounts that have now been through the most rigorous review."
The chairman explained that the delay was mainly due to faults in the company's preparation of its accounts which led to the auditing process be more lengthy that expected.
In June, the company appointed David Holmwood as interim chief financial officer after Matt Honey resigned from the company.
The company added that Holmwood has expressed interest in undertaking the role of CFO on a permanent basis. 7digital said it will now consider him alongside other external applicants before making any final decision.