New investors3 Mar 2017 12:45
Take a look at this, if you are a new investor or looking to invest.
Next rns is 14th March.
The business model of online distribution and digital products specialist Crossrider (CROS) has evolved since the company floated on Aim in the autumn of 2014, when it raised £46m at 100p a share. The business is no longer solely focused on monetising web and mobile media through the use of big data, but now has an app distribution platform that its customers can use for marketing their own products. The board is also using the company’s cash-rich balance sheet to add to its product portfolio.
A good example is Crossrider’s bolt-on acquisition a few months ago of DriverAgent, a PC maintenance software products company offering a leading device driver search and update service, which scans computers for outdated drivers. The product is designed for use with desktop computers, tablets and mobile devices and is compatible with all Windows operating systems. It’s popular too, having been downloaded more than 50m times in the past decade. Before the acquisition, Crossrider had successfully promoted DriverAgent on its own proprietary app distribution platform, achieving a 125 per cent increase in revenue from the product and doubling the monthly average gross profit achieved before launch on the platform. In a trading update a few weeks ago, Crossrider’s directors revealed that DriverAgent has been fully integrated into its own proprietary app distribution platform and the $1m (£800,000) acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive in the first year under the company’s ownership.
Crossrider’s web app distribution business also offers Reimage, a patented Microsoft-based product tool that enables customers to clean up their computers. Users are offered a free scan that identifies infected files and then offered the product for $99 before incentives if a repair to their computer is required. I understand that the conversion rate is around 5 per cent, thus providing a decent income stream for Crossrider.
The transition from an advertising technology company to one that provides a distribution platform and product hub for companies focused on digital products as well as its own consumer base makes commercial sense. App distribution accounted for almost two-thirds of Crossrider’s first-half revenue of $28.7m, and at sharply higher margins, reflecting more than 250,000 individual product sales. Rising profitability from this segment is being supported by a move to reduce reliance on outsourcing activities and increase direct control over distribution, thus improving customer service and retention rates with the aim of shifting towards a more recurring revenue base.
The company’s other main activity has two business lines: Ajillion, a white label mobile ad server for ad networks, and agencies; and DefinitiMedia, a mobile ad network. Ajillion enables ad networks to buy and sell mobile adv