12 Jul 2016 07:00
First Quarter Trading Update
London, England and San Francisco, CA. - 12 July 2016 - RhythmOne plc ("RhythmOne" or the "Company", LSE AIM: RTHM) today updates the market on its performance for the first quarter of the financial year 2017, covering the period from 1 April to 30 June 2016 ("Q1 2017" or "the Period").
Financials
Based on preliminary, unaudited results, Q1 2017 performance is expected to exceed management expectations. Core products continued to ramp during the Period, led by strong growth in programmatic platform revenues. Programmatic platform volumes more than tripled year over year, with over one trillion requests processed per month in Q1 2017, with notable improvements in both fill rate and pricing, as mobile now constitutes a majority of the volume processed:
Metric | Q1 2016 | Q4 2016 | Q1 2017 Approx. | |
Volume | Billions | 961.8 | 3,748.9 | 3,468.3 |
Desktop1 | % | n/a | 54.4 | 49.5 |
Mobile1 | % | n/a | 45.6 | 50.5 |
Fill Rate2 | % | 0.25 | 0.15 | 0.27 |
Price3 | $, (CPM) | 0.78 | 1.53 | 1.61 |
Products
As noted during its FY2016 results, the Company has continued to accelerate investments in its Core mobile, video and programmatic capabilities, with particular emphasis on ramping its unified programmatic platform. During the Period, RhythmOne continued to integrate its platform with a number of new programmatic demand and supply partners. Consequently, programmatic revenues grew rapidly during Q1 2017, setting a new 3-month performance record for the Company. The Company is now focused on ramping video, performance and international revenues within its platform, while continuing to drawdown non-core products and migrating non-programmatic revenues.
Market
The online advertising sector continues to show evidence of strong macro trends, led by increases in mobile, video and programmatic budgets, and an accelerating pace of consolidation. While the revenue streams of the Company remain transaction-based and subject to seasonality, the result of the UK referendum on leaving the European Union is expected to have negligible foreign exchange impact on the Company's financial performance and operations, since virtually all of its revenues and costs are currently generated in the US, and its balance sheet is US dollar-denominated.
Outlook
"We are pleased to provide this update to the market on our first quarter trading, which is anticipated to be materially ahead of management expectations," said S. Brian Mukherjee, CEO of RhythmOne. "Our focus on Core mobile, video and programmatic products, and draw down of Non-Core product lines, remains fully aligned with broader structural market trends. We feel confident that the significant steps we took in FY2016 to realign the business around our Core capabilities and achieve operational efficiency have set the stage for higher quality top-line growth and a return to full year profitability in FY2017."
The information communicated herein constitutes inside information.
Notes:
1Volume of transactions (ad requests) processed through the platform. Volumes are continuously optimized for performance and yield.
2Proportion of the above transaction volume monetized.
3Average price across all ad formats, expressed as Cost per Mille or Thousand Impressions.
For further information, please contact:
Analyst and Investor Contact Dan Slivjanovski RhythmOne plc
| Financial Media Contacts Edward Bridges/Charles Palmer FTI Consulting LLP (UK) 020 3727 1000
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NOMAD and Joint Broker for RhythmOne plc Christopher Wren Citigroup Global Markets Limited (UK) 020 7986 9756 | Joint Broker for RhythmOne plc Lorna Tilbian/Mark Lander/Nick Westlake Numis Securities Limited (UK) 020 7260 1000
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About RhythmOne
RhythmOne is an online advertising company that connects digital audiences with brands through premium content across devices. Founded in 2004 as a pioneer of video search, RhythmOne works with advertisers, publishers and content providers to offer fully integrated, cross-screen advertising solutions that span desktop and mobile video, rich media, display, social and native formats. Through its fully integrated programmatic platform, RhythmMax, the Company represents inventory across owned, controlled and extended supply sources. The RhythmMax platform includes specialized brand safety technology, RhythmGuard, which combines leading third-party verification methodologies with proprietary filtering technology to ensure quality inventory in brand safe environments. RhythmOne's mission is to maximize return on spend by providing the most efficient and effective marketplace for digital advertising. The Company is headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices in the US, UK and Canada. For more information please visit www.rhythmone.com.