25 Jan 2018 07:00
For immediate release: 25 January 2018
Minds + Machines Group Limited
("MMX" or the "Company")
Trading update
Minds + Machines Group Limited (AIM: MMX), one of the world's leading owners and operators of Internet Top-Level Domains ("TLDs"), is pleased to provide the following trading update post the year end.
During the year under review, domains under management grew 67% to over 1.32 million (31 December 2016: 0.8 million).
As anticipated at the time of the release of the interim results on 26 September 2017, MMX enjoyed a strong second half of the year building on the foundations laid in the first half. H2 billings amounted to approximately $10 million (compared with $5.6 million in H1) resulting in total billings of approximately $15.6 million for the full year thereby enabling the Company to achieve its first year of profitability as an operating business.
The mix of the billings has also continued to improve with renewal revenue now accounting for approximately $5.6 million (2016: $3.8 million). Importantly, recurring income for the first-time has exceeded fixed operating costs which have been reduced to below $5.5 million for 2017 (2016: $6.5 million).
As a result, with billings in line with market expectations, the Company expects EBITDA to be slightly ahead of market expectations, with profit being further boosted by $2.1 million through monies received by the Company from two contested TLD auctions that took place during 2017.
The Company has also continued to strengthen its balance sheet in the year. Net cash at 31 December 2017 had improved to $15.9 million (31 December 2016: $15.3 million) despite settling $3.1 million of balance sheet liabilities in the year associated with contracts restructured in 2016.
The strategic review continues to progress and the benefits of consolidation in the industry remain. Whilst the longevity of the discussions has been at times frustrating, it is hoped that the process can be brought to a successful conclusion by the time of the full year results which are expected to be released in April 2018.
Toby Hall, CEO of MMX, commented:
"To have transformed the Company from a loss-making business to a profitable one on an ongoing basis within 24 months is an achievement the whole team should be proud of. 2018 has started positively and I look forward to updating shareholders in April with our strategy for building on this profitable platform and delivering value to shareholders."
The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
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For further information:
Minds + Machines Group Limited |
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Toby Hall, CEO | Tel: +44 (0) 7713 341072 |
Michael Salazar, COO/CFO | Tel: +1 (310) 740 7499 |
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finnCap Ltd |
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Corporate finance - Stuart Andrews/Carl Holmes/Simon Hicks Corporate broking - Tim Redfern/Camille Gochez | Tel: 020 7220 0500 |
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Belvedere Communications Limited |
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John West Kim van Beeck | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3567 0510 |
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About MMX
Minds + Machines Group Limited (LSE: MMX) is the owner and operator of a world class portfolio of top-level domain assets (gTLDs). As a sales and marketing-led registry business, we are focused on commercializing our portfolio in partnership with our expanding global network of distribution partners.
The MMX portfolio is currently focused around geographic domains (e.g. .london, .boston, .miami, .bayern), professional occupations (e.g. .law, .abogado, and .dds), consumer interests (e.g. .fashion, .wedding, .vip), lifestyle (e.g. .fit, .surf, .yoga), outdoor activities (e.g..fishing, .garden, .horse) and generic names such as .work and .casa. As a business, we work through our expanding international network of registrars and distribution partners to bring the benefits of affinity based domain addresses to B2B and consumer audiences. For more information on MMX, please visit www.mmx.co