Aferian Regulatory News (AFRN)

RNS

24 October 2022

AFERIAN PLC

("Aferian", the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading Update

Aferian plc (LSE AIM: AFRN), the B2B video streaming solutions company, today announces the following trading update.

Recently our Amino business has experienced delays due to the desire of some customers to reduce their working capital, particularly in the USA. Consequently, device revenues are now expected to be approximately 10% lower than our expectation for the year ending 30 November 2022 as previously communicated in our June 2022 trading update that indicated a second half weighting for the Amino business. This trend is expected to continue into the first half of FY23 as some customer inventory levels remain high having been bolstered to mitigate the earlier supply chain disruptions.

Exit ARR and software revenue growth of approximately 15% and 5% respectively (25% and 15% on a constant currency basis) remains in line with original management expectations as demand for 24i's applications to deliver video streaming services continues in line with growing market trends. This is supported by growth from existing customers as well as new wins such as the partnership with Swisscom Broadcast announced on 31st August 2022.

In the light of these facts, the Board now expects Group adjusted operating profit for the year ending 30 November 2022 to be in the range of $7.8m to $8.8m. 

In addition, there will be a one-off charge of approximately $5.5m in the period for costs incurred in relation to an aborted significant acquisition opportunity. As a consequence, and because of the strategic investment made in inventory to de-risk device production volumes, net cash at 30 November 2022 is expected to be in the range of $2m net cash to $2m net debt.

Despite the short-term headwinds in the Amino device business the Board remains committed to the business strategy to serve the growing video streaming market.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated by the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No.596/2014, as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

The person responsible for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company for the purposes of MAR is Mark Carlisle.

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About Aferian plc 

Aferian plc (AIM: AFRN) is a B2B video streaming solutions company. Our end-to-end solutions bring live and on-demand video to every kind of screen. We create the forward-thinking solutions that our customers need to drive subscriber engagement, audience satisfaction, and revenue growth.

It is our belief that successful media companies and services will be those that are most consumer-centric, data driven and flexible to change. We focus on innovating technologies that enable our customers to stay ahead of evolving viewer demand by providing smarter, more cost-effective ways of delivering end-to-end modern TV and video experiences to consumers. By anticipating technological and behavioural audience trends, our software solutions empower our customers to heighten viewer enjoyment, drive growth in audience share and ultimately their profitability.

Aferian plc has two operating companies: 24i, which focusses on streaming video experiences, and Amino, which connects Pay TV to streaming services. Our two complementary companies combine their products and services to create solutions which ensure that people can consume TV and video how and when they want it. Our solutions deliver modern TV and video experiences every day to millions of viewers globally, via our growing global customer base of over 500 service providers.

Aferian plc is traded on the London Stock Exchange's AIM stock market (AIM: symbol AFRN). Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the Company has over 350 staff located in 11 offices, including in such major European cities as Amsterdam, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Brno, as well as in San Francisco and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.aferian.com.