PHRM.L Share News (PHRM)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Phorm Corporation Ltd Tuesday said it is in the process of implementing the next stage of a cost cutting plan in an effort to save between USD400,000 and USD600,000 per year.

Phorm operates an opt-in online advertising platform that protects users' privacy while making content and advertising more relevant to them.

The next stage of Phorm's cost savings plan comes after the completion of the first phase and the launch of its machine learning algorithm.

Phorm said the cost savings target for the second phase of the plan is in part due to "operational efficiencies" created by the machine learning algorithm.

"By improving both performance and efficiency, whilst reducing the amount of manual input required, the machine learning algorithm has also opened up the possibility of concluding potential licensing agreements with third parties in order to further accelerate the commercialisation of the platform. A number of these discussions are ongoing and the company currently anticipates being able to announce its first licencing deal in the coming months," Phorm said.

News of the cost savings emerged in an update on trading and conditions in the US, Russia and China.

Phorm said it now has access to more than nine billion advertising requests per day in the US, where it said the commercial outlook is promising.

It said that revenue growth in Russia has been strong in spite of challenging macro economic conditions. Unaudited gross revenue from Russia amounted to RUB8.0 million in March, up from RUB4.5 million in February.

Phorm is also seeking a large local player to partner with in China due to "a number of operational challenges". It said that "several conversations" are ongoing.

"The combination of our commercial launch in the US, together with strong revenue growth in Russia, ongoing partnership discussions in China, enhanced performance and a reducing cost base means that the company continues to be optimistic about its commercial outlook for the remainder of 2015 and beyond," Phorm said in a statement.

Phorm shares closed down 4.2% at 7.54 pence on Tuesday.

By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini

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