IDG1 Dec 2009 12:02
Taken from a report out yesterday.
The advertising and software group that enables banks to use their cashpoint machines to advertise their own products and those of third parties has seen revenues rise by 14%, to £2.37 million, but an operating loss widen from £0.63 million in 2008 to £1.14 million in the year to 30 September. Top line growth has been driven by increased media sales, where i-design secures a share of revenues paid by third party advertisers. This on the one hand reflects increased levels of advertising on a per-cashpoint basis and, on the other, reflects the rise in the number of cashpoint machines able to display this advertising.
Crucially, finance director Ian Sunter told Hybridan he believes that growth in these two areas alone would be sufficient to bring the group to breakeven. But the widening losses were driven by a rise in staff costs as the group invests for growth. And the banking crisis continues to affect i-design's performance, with two expected deals with UK banks yet to come to fruition. Any success here, however, could see the group benefit from operational leverage, with top-line growth leading to a disproportionate improvement in the bottom line.
Furthermore, the group already provides services to a bank in Greece, demonstrating its international potential. So i-design, despite all the obvious setbacks, continues to have designs on the future.